The NHL's new collective bargaining agreement expanded the 2026-27 regular season from 82 games to 84.
As a result, the 2026 preseason will be shorter.
Training camps opened on Sept. 17 and the first preseason games will be on Saturday, Sept. 19. The preseason schedule will end one week later.
Each team will play four games, except for the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators, who are playing five. Those teams are taking part in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game on Sept. 21.
Here are the dates, times and locations for the NHL preseason schedule before the 2026-27 regular season opens on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
NHL preseason schedule
All times Eastern
SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
- Dallas at St. Louis, 7 p.m.
- Montreal (split-squad) at Toronto (split-squad), 7 p.m.
- Toronto (split-squad) at Montreal (split-squad), 7 p.m.
- Winnipeg at Edmonton, 8 p.m.
- Chicago at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
- Los Angeles vs. Vegas, at Ontario, California, 9 p.m.
- Vancouver at Seattle, 9 p.m.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 20
- NY Islanders at New Jersey, 1 p.m.
- San Jose at Anaheim, 4 p.m.
- Nashville at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m.
- Washington at Boston, 5 p.m.
- Carolina at Florida, 7 p.m.
- Utah at Colorado, 7 p.m.
- Seattle at Calgary, 8 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 21
- Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
- Detroit at Columbus, 7 p.m.
- NY Rangers at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
- Philadelphia vs. Washington, at Hershey, Pennsylvania, 7 p.m.
- Montreal vs. Ottawa, at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, 7 p.m.
- Colorado at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.
- Minnesota at Chicago, 8 p.m.
- St. Louis at Dallas, 8 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 22
- Columbus at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
- Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
- Florida at Carolina, 7 p.m.
- NY Islanders at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
- Philadelphia at Boston, 7 p.m.
- Edmonton at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.
- Tampa Bay at Nashville, 8 p.m.
- Vancouver at Calgary, 9 p.m.
- Utah at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.
- Vegas at San Jose, 10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23
- Ottawa (split-squad) at Toronto (split-squad), 7 p.m.
- Toronto (split-squad) at Ottawa (split-squad), 7 p.m.
- Minnesota at Dallas, 8 p.m.
- Los Angeles at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 24
- Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
- Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
- Florida at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
- Carolina vs. Nashville, at Greensboro, North Carolina, 7 p.m.
- New Jersey at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
- Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7 p.m.
- Chicago at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
- Edmonton at Vancouver, 9 p.m.
- Calgary at Seattle, 9:40 p.m.
- Anaheim at San Jose, 10 p.m.
- Utah at Vegas, 10 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25
- Boston at Washington, 7 p.m.
- NY Rangers at NY Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
- Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
- Winnipeg at Colorado, 8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY,
SEPT. 26
- Carolina at Nashville, 3 p.m.
- Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 3 p.m.
- Anaheim at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
- Colorado at Utah, 5 p.m.
- Washington at Philadelphia, 5 p.m.
- Tampa Bay at Florida, 6 p.m.
- Seattle at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
- St. Louis at Chicago, 7 p.m.
- Columbus at Detroit, 7 p.m.
- Montreal (split-squad) at Ottawa (split-squad), 7 p.m.
- Ottawa (split-squad) at Montreal (split-squad), 7 p.m.
- New Jersey at NY Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
- Calgary at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
- San Jose at Vegas, 10 p.m.
When does the 2026-27 NHL regular season begin?
The 2026-27 NHL season will begin on Sept. 29 with five games on opening night:
- Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 5
- Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 7
- New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins, 8
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers, 10
- Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 10:30
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When does NHL preseason start? Here's the full 2026 schedule
