The NHL returns on Tuesday, 29 September, with five games opening the 2026/27 regular season and several major storylines immediately taking centre stage.
Defending Stanley Cup champions Carolina Hurricanes begin their title defence against the Florida Panthers. Toronto Maple Leafs will also hand 2026 No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens.
Boston Bruins host New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers meet Vancouver Canucks and Western Conference champions Vegas Golden Knights face Chicago Blackhawks.
The new campaign also brings a significant schedule change. Each team will play 84 regular-season games rather than 82, taking the league-wide total to a record 1,344 fixtures. The regular season runs through to 10 April 2027, when all 32 teams will be in action.
For readers following the league throughout the season, World in Sport’s NHL coverage will track the major games, results and developments.
Embed from Getty ImagesCarolina begin Stanley Cup defence
The season starts at Lenovo Center, where Carolina will raise their 2026 Stanley Cup championship banner before facing Florida at 5 pm ET, or 10 pm BST.
Carolina defeated Vegas in six games in June to win their second Stanley Cup and their first since 2006. They closed the Final with a 3-0 victory in Game 6 and finished the postseason with a 16-3 record.
That success immediately changes the challenge facing Rod Brind’Amour’s team. Carolina spent last season pursuing the Cup. They now enter the campaign as the team every opponent wants to beat.
Their opening test is particularly significant because Florida provide a recent example of what sustained championship contention requires.
The Panthers won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025 before missing the playoffs last season. Captain Aleksander Barkov will return after missing the entire 2025/26 campaign with a right knee injury.
Brady Tkachuk will also make his Panthers debut alongside brother Matthew after Florida acquired him from the Ottawa Senators in June.
Carolina will not be at full strength. Forward Seth Jarvis is set to miss the start of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Even so, opening night offers an immediate examination of two Eastern Conference teams with recent championship experience.
McKenna prepares for Toronto debut
The second game carries a different type of anticipation.
Toronto host Original Six rivals Montreal at Scotiabank Arena at 7 pm ET, which is midnight BST on Wednesday morning in the UK.
The focus will inevitably fall on McKenna.
Toronto selected the 18-year-old forward with the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft before signing him to a three-year entry-level contract. He recorded 51 points from 35 games for Penn State in 2025/26, with 15 goals and 36 assists.
McKenna is expected to make his NHL debut against Montreal and looks likely to start alongside John Tavares and William Nylander after a strong preseason.
The Maple Leafs need more than an impressive debut from their young forward.
Toronto finished 32-36-14 last season, placed eighth in the Atlantic Division and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The club have since made substantial changes, including the arrivals of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and head coach Jim Hiller.
That makes the Montreal game more than a showcase for the league’s newest high-profile rookie. It is also the first competitive test of a reshaped Toronto team trying to return to the postseason.
The Canadiens provide a familiar opponent and an immediate rivalry atmosphere.
World in Sport has previously looked back at the Montreal Canadiens’ four consecutive Stanley Cup victories. The latest meeting begins a very different chapter between the two Original Six clubs.
Embed from Getty ImagesRangers and Bruins renew Original Six rivalry
New York Rangers visit Boston in the third game of the night.
Face-off at TD Garden is scheduled for 8 pm ET, or 1 am BST on Wednesday.
The fixture provides another Original Six matchup and gives both teams an early opportunity to establish momentum inside the Eastern Conference.
Boston also enter the season with a significant leadership change.
The Bruins named David Pastrnak captain on 27 September, making the forward the club’s first captain since Brad Marchand. The opening meeting with the Rangers will therefore mark Pastrnak’s first regular-season game wearing the captaincy.
Opening-night results rarely define an 84-game season, but divisional and conference points can become valuable once the playoff race tightens.
The Rangers-Bruins meeting provides both teams with an early Eastern Conference test.
Oilers and Canucks start under new coaches
Vancouver travel to Rogers Place for a 10 pm ET start against Edmonton, beginning at 3 am BST in the UK.
Both teams enter the game with new head coaches.
Edmonton appointed Mike Babcock in June. Tuesday will be Babcock’s first official NHL game since 19 November 2019, when he coached his final game with Toronto.
The Oilers are looking for a response after a difficult 2025/26 season followed by two successive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl remain central to their ambitions, but Edmonton now start another attempt to return to the postseason under a different coach.
Vancouver are also beginning a new era.
Manny Malhotra will make his NHL head-coaching debut after previously coaching Vancouver’s AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. The Canucks finished last overall in the NHL last season, leaving Malhotra with a clear rebuilding task.
An opening game against Edmonton therefore gives Vancouver an immediate measure of their progress.
For fans less familiar with how regulation, penalties, overtime and the shootout operate, World in Sport’s NHL rules guide explains the competition structure in detail.
Vegas return after Stanley Cup Final defeat
Opening night concludes with Chicago visiting Vegas at T-Mobile Arena at 10.30 pm ET, or 3.30 am BST on Wednesday.
Vegas enter the campaign after reaching the 2026 Stanley Cup Final before losing 4-2 to Carolina.
The Golden Knights also begin with a new head coach.
Ryan Craig will make his NHL head-coaching debut after replacing John Tortorella. Craig previously spent six seasons as a Vegas assistant before coaching Henderson Silver Knights in the American Hockey League for three seasons.
Chicago arrive with a younger roster and the added storyline of Patrick Kane’s return to the Blackhawks.
Facing the defending Western Conference champions provides a demanding opening assignment, particularly away from home.
The result will not define either team’s season, but Vegas begin the campaign trying to build on last year’s run to the Final.
NHL opening night schedule
| Fixture | ET | UK time |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes | 5pm | 10pm BST |
| Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs | 7pm | 12am BST |
| New York Rangers at Boston Bruins | 8pm | 1am BST |
| Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers | 10pm | 3am BST |
| Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights | 10.30pm | 3.30am BST |
The official NHL schedule announcement confirms all five opening-night fixtures.
The new 84-game format gives every club 42 home games and 42 away games. Teams will play each of their seven divisional opponents four times, every team from the other division in their conference three times and every non-conference opponent twice.
The expansion gives the NHL its first 84-game campaign in 33 years.
Embed from Getty ImagesA different shape to the new NHL season
Opening night also starts a season featuring several major events away from the standard arena schedule.
Winnipeg Jets will host Montreal in the Heritage Classic on 25 October. Carolina and Seattle Kraken will play two Global Series games in Helsinki on 12 and 14 November, while Ottawa Senators and Chicago meet in Düsseldorf on 18 and 20 December.
The NHL All-Star Game also returns after a two-year absence. UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders, will stage the Skills competition on 5 February before the All-Star Game on 6 February.
Before those events arrive, Tuesday’s five-game programme brings the focus back to competitive hockey.
Carolina begin the night by celebrating a championship. Toronto introduce the No. 1 pick in the draft. Boston start a new captaincy era. Edmonton and Vancouver begin under new coaches. Vegas return after falling two victories short of the Stanley Cup.
After an offseason of trades, coaching changes and roster rebuilding, the first meaningful results of 2026/27 are finally ready to be decided on the ice.
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