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May 28, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis (24) celebrates scoring with forward Andrei Svechnikov (37) and defenseman Dmitry Orlov (7) during the third period against the Florida Panthers in game five of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Carolina Hurricanes’ 2025-26 Schedule: Key Dates, Matchups & More

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Zach Martin | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 9:15 AM ET

We’re another day closer to the 2025-26 season, as another offseason marker has passed for all 32 NHL teams. On Wednesday, July 16, the NHL announced the full 82-game slate for this season, which will surround the two-week break in the middle of the season for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Regarding the Carolina Hurricanes, this will be a pivotal season for them as they aim to secure their eighth consecutive playoff appearance. Furthermore, hopefully, a berth in the Stanley Cup Final. Before all of that, what are the biggest takeaways for the upcoming season in Raleigh, North Carolina?

The Path Is Set for the Hurricanes

Before the whole 2025-26 schedule was dropped, the Hurricanes announced that their home and season-opening game will be against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, Oct. 9. The team also announced their season schedule on socials with Seth Jarvis‘ buddies from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the same group who traveled to the 4 Nations Face-Off Final and a game in Raleigh last season. They will follow up the first game of the season with a Saturday, Oct. 11 showdown with the Philadelphia Flyers before their first long road trip of the season. It will be one of many for the Hurricanes this upcoming season. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour and his team will have four road trips of at least four games, with the first one coming in October following the first two games of the season. Between Oct. 14 and 25, they will have their season-long six-game road trip with stops against the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars.

The Hurricanes are no strangers to this early, long road trip, as it’s always been dubbed “The North Carolina State Fair” or simply, “The State Fair Trip”. In 2024-25, the Hurricanes went 5-1-0 in last year’s state fair trip, which launched into an eight-game winning streak and a 14-4-0 start to the season. Could they be in store for another hot start to the season? Outside of the state fair trip, the Hurricanes will finish the season playing 15 of their last 23 games on the road. Talk about being road warriors going into the 2026 NHL Playoffs.

While they will be on the road a ton to finish the season, the Hurricanes do have a super long homestand towards the end of the 2025 calendar year. They will have seven consecutive games at Lenovo Center from Nov. 26 to Dec. 9, with two of those games surrounding Thanksgiving Day. This will be the Hurricanes’ longest homestand since April 3-17, 2021, which was eight games. In that span, they went 5-2-1. Speaking of holidays, the Hurricanes will be playing at home during Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2025-26. During Thanksgiving, they will take on the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and then the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, Nov. 28. A nice little turkey day sandwich of games for Hurricanes fans who want to stay in Raleigh for the holidays.

During Christmas, their final game before the winter break will be against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 23. After coming back from winter break, the Hurricanes will host the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 27. Following those two games, they will finish 2025 off with a home-then-road back-to-back against the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. To kick off 2026, the Hurricanes will be back home to host the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 1. Fun fact: they’ve won their last four New Year’s Day games and are also unbeaten at 4-0-1 since relocating from Hartford.

Another takeaway for the Hurricanes is that they will have 15 back-to-backs this upcoming season. During the 2024-25 season, they also had to play 15 back-to-back sets, finishing with a 16-14-0 record. It’ll be a test for the Hurricanes as they navigate a ton of games so close together, with some being three games in four days. If Brind’Amour and his team want to make eight consecutive playoff berths, they will have to run the gauntlet of back-to-backs.

After going 4-3-0 in their seven Saturday home games in 2024-25, the Hurricanes will have 10 Saturday games during the 2025-26 season. It will be interesting to see if Saturday is Alright for Hockey in Raleigh for the Hurricanes this season. One of their biggest tests outside of the Saturday slate of games will be taking on the Panthers three times during the season. The first of three matchups will start at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday, Dec. 19, which will be followed by the last two games being in Raleigh on Tuesday, Dec. 23, and Friday, Jan. 16. It’ll be an early playoff preview test against the two-time defending champions who are the team to beat in the East this season.

Finally, the biggest takeaway from the 2025-26 schedule is what the Metropolitan Division matchups look like. The Hurricanes will only take on the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders three times each this season. It is surprising that the Metro Division champions only get three games against the Hurricanes. Outside of the Capitals and Islanders, they will face off against the Rangers, Penguins, Devils, Flyers, and Columbus Blue Jackets four times each. The Hurricanes will be in a battle for the Metropolitan Division this upcoming season with multiple teams trying to improve to catch them, who seem to be the odds-on favorite to win the division in 2025-26. Either way, it will be an exciting season for the Hurricanes as they’re looking for their eighth straight playoff appearance and hopefully their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2006.

Another Step Closer to Opening Night

Another offseason checkpoint is off the list as the schedules are fully released. Now, it’s a waiting game until the training camps start in September before the start of preseason. The Hurricanes still have possible moves to make for their main roster in Raleigh and their American Hockey League team in Chicago. Even though it’s still a long way off, just getting the schedules makes fans even more excited for the season to get here. What could we be in store for this upcoming 2025-26 season from the Hurricanes?