Each Monday throughout the 2025-26 NHL season, ESPN and NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes will provide fans with a guide of games that will be nationally televised. Today, a look at games for the first week of the regular season.
Highlights include an opening night tripleheader on ESPN featuring the Chicago Blackhawks at the Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the New York Rangers, and the Colorado Avalanche at the Los Angeles Kings, and all 32 teams playing on Saturday, the first of two times that will happen this season.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7
Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers (5 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS)
The Panthers will start the season by raising their second straight Stanley Cup banner at Amerant Bank Arena when they host the Blackhawks. Florida defenseman Seth Jones will play his former team for the first time since he was traded for goalie Spencer Knight and a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on March 1. Knight is expected to start for the Blackhawks. It will be a good test for Chicago against Florida, even with the champs without forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov due to injury.
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS)
Both teams are hoping to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing last season, and this will be an interesting one at Madison Square Garden. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang face their former coach, Mike Sullivan, who was hired by the Rangers this offseason. Penguins new coach Dan Muse was an assistant in New York last season and will try to integrate young players into the lineup. The Rangers roster will look different from a season ago, with many notable players from their 2024 opening night lineup no longer with the team, including forwards Chris Kreider, Kaapo Kakko, Reilly Smith and Filip Chytil, and defensemen Jacob Trouba and K'Andre Miller.
Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS)
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog returned in the playoffs last season but will play his first regular-season game since 2022. He, along with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and the rest of the team are among the Cup favorites in 2025-26 and start their season at Crypto.com Arena against captain Anze Kopitar (who announced he would retire at the end of the season) and the Kings, who are aiming to advance past the first round of the postseason for the first time since winning the Cup in 2014.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8
Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS)
The Canadiens may have been a surprise team last season, but they won't be surprising anyone in 2025-26. You can bet Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs will be ready for this one at Scotiabank Arena. Defenseman Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy last season as the top rookie and his teammate, forward Ivan Demidov, is among the preseason favorites to win it this year. Toronto will be entering the season without Mitch Marner, who was acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal July 1, but still has high expectations this season.
Boston Bruins at Washington Capitals (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT)
Alex Ovechkin enters the season three goals from 900 and hopes he and his teammates can have the same success they had last season when they finished first (51-22-9) in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals will host the Bruins at Capital One Arena, with Boston looking for a fast start in this game and on the season after tying for the worst record (33-39-10) in the East in 2024-25 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Los Angeles Kings at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT)
The Golden Knights are three seasons removed from winning the Stanley Cup and begin their quest to do so again in their season opener at T-Mobile Arena. Last season, they lost in the second round, but bolstered the roster over the summer adding Marner and depth signings including forward Colton Sissons and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon. It remains to be seen how they fare without Alex Pietrangelo, who could miss this season because of a lower-body injury. Los Angeles added grit with forward Corey Perry, but he'll be sidelined to start the season after knee surgery.
