NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League (NHL) announced today the 2025-26 regular season will open on Tuesday, Oct. 7 with an opening night tripleheader broadcast exclusively on ESPN in the U.S., and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

At 5 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks will face off against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Prior to the game, Florida will raise its second championship banner at Amerant Bank Arena.

Action continues at 8 p.m. ET when the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against the New York Rangers in a Metropolitan Division matchup at Madison Square Garden.

Following at 10:30 p.m. ET, the Colorado Avalanche will visit the Los Angeles Kings in a Western Conference matchup at Crypto.com Arena.

The complete 2025-26 NHL regular-season schedule is set to be announced on Wednesday, July 16, at 1 p.m. ET. In addition, at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, NHL Network will air a one-hour special edition of NHL Tonight covering the schedule release, which will be hosted by Jamison Coyle, Mike Rupp and E.J. Hradek. The special edition programming will also stream on NHL.com. NHL Network will continue to break down the schedule during its regularly scheduled NHL Tonight show at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday.