NHL Makes Announcement Before 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The National Hockey League has officially released the schedule for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, setting the stage for the postseason to begin this weekend.
The postseason will begin Saturday, with the Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series at 3 p.m. ET.
"The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin Saturday when the Carolina Hurricanes host the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series," the NHL wrote in its announcement.
Carolina enters the series as the Metropolitan Division champion, while Ottawa qualified as the second Eastern wild card. Later Saturday, the Minnesota Wild will face the Dallas Stars at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at 8 p.m. ET.
Sunday's schedule features four additional Game 1 matchups, including the Los Angeles Kings visiting the Colorado Avalanche, the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Montreal Canadiens, the Boston Bruins facing the Buffalo Sabres, and the Utah Mammoth traveling to play the Vegas Golden Knights.
The final opening matchup will take place Monday, when the Edmonton Oilers host the Anaheim Ducks at 10 p.m. ET in their Pacific Division series.
The league included the full first-round schedule in its release, outlining potential seven-game series formats for all eight matchups across the Eastern and Western Conferences.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
— NHL (@NHL) April 17, 2026
Your #StanleyCup Playoffs First Round schedules are here!
The action gets underway TOMORROW on @espn, @Sportsnet and @TVASports! pic.twitter.com/iUxi0JVWH6
In the East, the Hurricanes-Senators, Canadiens-Lightning, Flyers-Penguins, and Bruins-Sabres series are set, while the West features Kings-Avalanche, Wild-Stars, Mammoth-Golden Knights, and Ducks-Oilers.
In the Eastern Conference, series include Senators-Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens versus Lightning, Flyers-Penguins, and Boston Bruins against Sabres.
With the complete schedule now finalized, teams will begin their pursuit of the Stanley Cup this weekend, opening the first round across three consecutive days.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 10:30 AM.