When Does the NHL Season Start? 2026-27 Schedule, Key Dates & How to Watch

NHL 2026-27 Season
29 Sep
Opening night 2026
84 games
per team, expanded season
5–6 Feb
All-Star Weekend, Long Island
10 Apr
Regular season ends

The 2026-27 NHL season starts on Tuesday 29 September 2026, when the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes host the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens. It is the first 84-game season, running to Saturday 10 April 2027 before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in mid-April. Every game is on our NHL schedule calendar; the next games, key dates and how to watch are below.

Next upAnaheim Ducks at Winnipeg JetsFriday 9 October 2026 · 8pm EDT / 1am BST

Key facts

Opening night Tuesday 29 September 2026: Panthers at Hurricanes, Canadiens at Maple Leafs
Regular season 84 games per team, 29 September 2026 – 10 April 2027
All-Star Weekend Friday 5 – Saturday 6 February 2027, UBS Arena, Long Island
Stanley Cup Playoffs From mid-April 2027, 16 teams, four best-of-seven rounds
Defending champions Carolina Hurricanes
Teams 32 across the Eastern and Western Conferences

Next NHL games

The next games on the NHL schedule with face-off times in US Eastern and UK time.

Date Game Face-off (ET / UK)
Fri 9 Oct Anaheim Ducks at Winnipeg Jets 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Sat 10 Oct Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins 1pm EDT / 6pm BST
Sat 10 Oct Vancouver Canucks at New Jersey Devils 3:30pm EDT / 8:30pm BST
Sat 10 Oct Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks 4pm EDT / 9pm BST
Sat 10 Oct Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers 6pm EDT / 11pm BST
Sat 10 Oct Utah Mammoth at Buffalo Sabres 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Detroit Red Wings at Montreal Canadiens 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Nashville Predators at Ottawa Senators 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Dallas Stars at Pittsburgh Penguins 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Columbus Blue Jackets at St. Louis Blues 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 10 Oct Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Sat 10 Oct Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Sat 10 Oct Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Sun 11 Oct Seattle Kraken at Washington Capitals 5pm EDT / 10pm BST
Sun 11 Oct Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers 6pm EDT / 11pm BST
Sun 11 Oct Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Mon 12 Oct Florida Panthers at Buffalo Sabres 1pm EDT / 6pm BST
Mon 12 Oct Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Mon 12 Oct Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Tue 13 Oct New Jersey Devils at Detroit Red Wings 6pm EDT / 11pm BST
Tue 13 Oct Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets 6:15pm EDT / 11:15pm BST
Tue 13 Oct Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens 6:30pm EDT / 11:30pm BST
Tue 13 Oct Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes 6:45pm EDT / 11:45pm BST
Tue 13 Oct Seattle Kraken at Philadelphia Flyers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Tue 13 Oct Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers 7:15pm EDT / 12:15am BST
Tue 13 Oct St. Louis Blues at Ottawa Senators 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Tue 13 Oct Vancouver Canucks at New York Islanders 7:45pm EDT / 12:45am BST
Tue 13 Oct Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks 8pm EDT / 1am BST

See every fixture on the calendar →

Key dates

Date Milestone
Tuesday 29 September 2026 Opening night: Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes; Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs
Friday 5 – Saturday 6 February 2027 NHL All-Star Skills and All-Star Game, UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Saturday 10 April 2027 Regular season ends
Mid-April 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin
June 2027 Stanley Cup Final

How to watch

United States
ESPN, ABC, TNT and truTV share national games, streaming on ESPN+ and Max. Regional sports networks carry local games; NHL Power Play on ESPN+ covers out-of-market games.
Canada
Sportsnet and CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, with TVA Sports in French; every game streams on Sportsnet+.
United Kingdom
Premier Sports shows several games a week; NHL.tv streams every game live and on demand.
Worldwide
NHL.tv is available in most countries outside North America.

Tickets

Tickets are sold by each club through Ticketmaster and the NHL’s official resale exchange. Opening night, Original Six matchups and outdoor games are the hardest to get.

Frequently asked questions

When does the 2026-27 NHL season start?

The 2026-27 NHL regular season starts on Tuesday 29 September 2026 with the Florida Panthers at the Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadiens at the Toronto Maple Leafs.

How many games are in the 2026-27 NHL season?

Each team plays 84 regular-season games, up from 82, in the first expanded schedule.

When is the 2027 NHL All-Star Game?

NHL All-Star Weekend is on 5 and 6 February 2027 at UBS Arena on Long Island, New York, with the Skills competition on the Friday and the All-Star Game on the Saturday.

When do the 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs start?

The regular season ends on Saturday 10 April 2027 and the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in mid-April.

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