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 upFlorida Panthers at Carolina HurricanesTuesday 29 September 2026 · 5pm EDT / 10pm 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)
Tue 29 Sep Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes 5pm EDT / 10pm BST
Tue 29 Sep Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Tue 29 Sep New York Rangers at Boston Bruins 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Tue 29 Sep Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Tue 29 Sep Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights 10:30pm EDT / 3:30am BST
Wed 30 Sep Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Wed 30 Sep New York Islanders at Toronto Maple Leafs 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Wed 30 Sep Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Thu 1 Oct Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Thu 1 Oct Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Thu 1 Oct Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Thu 1 Oct Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Thu 1 Oct Seattle Kraken at Calgary Flames 9pm EDT / 2am BST
Thu 1 Oct Chicago Blackhawks at Utah Mammoth 9pm EDT / 2am BST
Thu 1 Oct Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Thu 1 Oct Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver Canucks 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Fri 2 Oct New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings 6:30pm EDT / 11:30pm BST
Fri 2 Oct Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Fri 2 Oct Boston Bruins at Winnipeg Jets 8pm EDT / 1am BST
Fri 2 Oct St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars 9pm EDT / 2am BST
Fri 2 Oct Anaheim Ducks at Vegas Golden Knights 10pm EDT / 3am BST
Sat 3 Oct Chicago Blackhawks at Buffalo Sabres 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct Utah Mammoth at Columbus Blue Jackets 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct Seattle Kraken at Edmonton Oilers 7pm EDT / 12am BST
Sat 3 Oct New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders 7:30pm EDT / 12:30am BST
Sat 3 Oct Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild 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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