The Carolina Hurricanes will raise their second Stanley Cup championship banner Sept. 29 before hosting the Florida Panthers to kick off the NHL season.
The opener pits the most recent champions against the winners the previous two years. The Panthers looked primed to contend for another title until injuries derailed them and caused them to miss the playoffs. Carolina lost only one game to get through the Eastern Conference, then defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in the finals to win it all for the first time since 2006.
The @NHL announced today the 2026-27 regular season, expanded to 84 games with the addition of two more divisional contests per team, will open on Tuesday, Sept. 29. In addition, the League announced each team's home opener.
— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) July 15, 2026
Details: https://t.co/jMxZCwXZU6 pic.twitter.com/wfrDekHQs1
The game, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, will be part of an opening-night tripleheader on ESPN.
The league announced home openers for all 32 clubs Wednesday. The full schedule is set to be released Thursday.
The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins (8 ET, ESPN) will also face off Sept. 29 as part of a five-game curtain-raiser. The Chicago Blackhawks visit Vegas in the nightcap (10:30 ET, ESPN).
Play begins before October as the league moves to an 84-game schedule for the first time since 1993-94. The 1,344 games will be the most in NHL history.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
