NHL Announces Blackhawks vs. Senators for 2026 Global Series Schedule in Germany

The Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators will face off in a pair of NHL regular-season games in Germany during the 2026-27 campaign.

On Friday, the Blackhawks announced that they will clash with the Sens in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Dec. 18 and 20, 2026, as part of the NHL Global Series:

The contests will mark the first NHL regular-season games played in Germany since the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings met in Berlin in 2011.

More recently, the Sabres beat EHC Red Bull München of the German DEL hockey league in an exhibition game in Munich in September 2024.

The first regular-season games played outside of North America occurred in Tokyo in 1997, as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Vancouver Canucks split a pair of meetings.

Games in Europe have been a more common occurrence with at least one NHL regular-season game being played in Europe every year since 2022.

This season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators played each other twice at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, in November. Each team won a game.

Both the Blackhawks and Senators already have experience overseas with each team playing multiple regular-season games outside the United States and Canada.

Chicago played two games in Finland in 2009 and one game in Czechia in 2019, while Ottawa played games in Sweden in 2008, 2017 and 2023.

The Blackhawks and Sens both figure to bring some exciting and skilled players with them to Germany next season, led by Chicago's 20-year-old superstar forward Connor Bedard.

Ottawa will likely continue to be captained by rough-and-tumble winger Brady Tkachuk, who was part of Team USA's gold-medal-winning squad at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.