NHL Playoff Schedule 2026 Game 1 Dates Announced for 1st-Round Bracket Matchups
The schedule for the first weekend of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs has been set.
The playoffs will kick off Saturday with a first-round triple-header starting with a 3 p.m. ET matchup between the Ottawa Senators at Carolina Hurricanes.
The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars play in Texas at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Philadelphia Flyers at the Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. ET.
The opening weekend of the first round continues Sunday with four games including the Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres and Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden Knights.
Who the Colorado Avalanche play Saturday, as well as which teams feature in Monday's slate, depends on how the Pacific Division shakes out after the regular season wraps up Thursday.
All three of Saturday's games will be broadcast on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVAS, according to the NHL. The rest of the schedule will be released after the regular season wraps up Thursday night.
Heading into Thursday, the Edmonton Oilers (91 points) are on track to play the Anaheim Ducks (90 points) in the first round.
That would leave the Los Angeles Kings (90 points, but behind the Ducks on the regulation wins tiebreaker) on track to finish in the second Wild Card spot and start out their playoff bid against the conference-leading Avalanche.
That could change, given that all three teams are in action as the NHL closes out the regular season Thursday.
The Ducks are playing at the Nashville Predators at 8 p.m. ET, followed by 9 p.m. ET matchups featuring the Kings at the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers at the Vancouver Canucks.
A regulation win over the Canucks, who have already clinched their spot at the top of the NHL draft lottery, would guarantee Connor McDavid and the Oilers play either the Kings or Ducks.
A regulation loss combined with wins from the Ducks and Kings, however, would force the Oilers to start out their run at redemption from back-to-back Stanley Cup Final losses against a championship favorite team led by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
For the first time in three years, the Florida Panthers will not be lifting the Cup this spring after injury issues led to them missing out on the postseason altogether.
The 2026 playoff picture features six teams that did not qualify for the playoffs last year in the Penguins, Flyers, Sabres, Ducks, Mammoth and Bruins. That's the second-highest single-season playoff turnover in NHL history, according to the league.
