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The NHL plans to start its 2026-27 regular season earlier than usual with the league’s puck being dropped on Sept. 29, 2026. It will include a record 1,344 games played in the regular season, and each will have a team play an expanded 84-game schedule.
It’ll be a tripleheader on ESPN will open tonight across the United States featuring an action-packed opening night. Carolina’s newly acquired Stanley Cup-winning skirts and the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes will kick off their title defenses with a 5 p.m. ET series of about 50 games and 100 plays against the Florida Panthers. Later the Boston Bruins play the New York Rangers and then the Chicago Blackhawks play the Vegas Golden Knights.
Canadian fans will get an extra day’s worth of action on Sportsnet, featuring doubleheader games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens as well as the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers. This game between Toronto and Montreal may also mark the 2026 first overall pick Gavin McKenna’s NHL debut.
ESPN, ABC and TNT Sports will return for national TV broadcasts of the league, and Sportsnet will be a key Canadian broadcaster for the league. TNT Sports will start the year with the Philly Flyers against the Pittsburgh Penguins (on September 30) ahead of the LA Kings’ return to the COA.
There are also some big events this new season – after opening night. The NHL will hold regular-season Global Series events in Finland, Germany and three outdoor regular-season games with the biggest one the Heritage Classic, which returns to Winnipeg, and the Winter Classic in Salt Lake City and the Stadium Series in Arlington, Texas.
The Honda NHL All-Star Weekend is back in February at UBS Arena on Long Island. Meanwhile, matchups will continue to be interesting, such as before Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and the big matchup between the No. 1 picks of Matthew Schaefer and Gavin McKenna.
The 2026-27 NHL season will get started with plenty of storylines as the September season opener arrives, with an expanded schedule, more intense marquee events are also in the mix.
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