Last updated: October 6, 2026
You looked up how many games an NHL team plays, got the number 82 and then saw a schedule that starts in September. Both cannot be right.
How many NHL games in a season? Each of the 32 NHL teams plays 84 regular-season games in 2026-27, two more than the 82 that was standard for three decades. That makes 1,344 games across the league, played between September 29, 2026 and April 10, 2027, before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin the following week.
The 82 answer was correct for thirty years. It stopped being correct this season and many pages have not caught up yet.
This guide gives you the right numbers, explains why they changed, lists the dates worth knowing and shows where each team’s games air in the United States. If watching live TV over the internet is new to you, our plain-English guide to how internet TV works and our roundup of alternatives to cable TV cover the basics.
Key Takeaways
- 84 games per team. Every NHL team plays 84 regular-season games in 2026-27, the first 84-game season since 1993-94.
- 1,344 games in total across the 32-team league, spread over 194 days from September 29 to April 10.
- Up to 112 games for one team. Sixteen teams reach the playoffs and a champion that plays Game 7 in every round adds 28 more games.
- Your local channel matters most. Of the 25 US-based teams, 7 stream in market on Prime Video and 6 on DAZN; national games are split between TNT and ESPN.
How Many NHL Games in a Season? The Full Answer
Each NHL team plays 84 regular-season games: 42 at home and 42 on the road.
With 32 teams, the league total is 1,344. Multiply 84 games by 32 teams and you get 2,688 team appearances. Two teams play in every game, so halve that and you land on 1,344 matchups.
The NHL released its full 2026-27 schedule on July 16, 2026. The league’s schedule announcement lists 84 games per team and 1,344 regular-season games, the most in NHL history, from Tuesday, September 29 to Saturday, April 10. theScore covered the release the same day.
If you mean how many NHL games in a season including the playoffs, the number is not fixed. The postseason adds anywhere from 4 to 28 games, depending on how far a team goes.
The numbers at a glance
| Measure | 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Games per team, regular season | 84 |
| Home games per team | 42 |
| Road games per team | 42 |
| Teams in the league | 32 |
| Total regular-season games | 1,344 |
| Length of the regular season | 194 days |
| Preseason games, most teams | 4 |
| Teams that reach the playoffs | 16 |
| Maximum playoff games for one team | 28 |
| Maximum games in one season | 112 |
Why the NHL Went From 82 Games to 84
The NHL went to 84 games mainly to fix its calendar: a season that starts earlier and ends slightly later leaves more time between the Stanley Cup Final and the draft.
The old number, 82, arrived in 1995-96, after the 1994-95 lockout, when neutral-site games were dropped and the schedule shrank from 84.
Thirty-one years later it has gone back up. The change is written into the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NHL Players’ Association, a deal that Front Office Sports reports runs to September 2030. It is not a one-year trial.
The real reason: the calendar
Think of the NHL year as a shelf that is slightly too small for its books. The Stanley Cup Final ends in June. The draft follows in late June. Free agency opens July 1.
The AP points to 2024 as the moment the squeeze became obvious. When Florida and Edmonton went to Game 7, only three days separated that game from the first round of the draft.
Starting earlier and finishing slightly later pushes the Final further from the draft. The two extra games are almost a side effect of fixing the calendar.
What the two extra games are
Both additions are divisional games. Front Office Sports notes this let the league spread intradivisional games evenly for the first time since Seattle joined in 2021.
For a fan, that means more of your team’s 84 games come against the clubs it is most likely to meet in the first round of the playoffs.
Has the NHL played 84 games before?
Yes, in 1992-93 and 1993-94. According to an Associated Press report from September 2026, 24 teams played 1,008 games in 1992-93 and 26 teams played 1,092 in 1993-94.
Same games per team as today, eight fewer teams playing them.
How Long Is the Hockey Season in 2026-27?
The regular season runs September 29, 2026 to April 10, 2027: a 194-day span of roughly 28 weeks. Every team plays its finale on April 10 and the playoffs begin the following week.
Spread 84 games across 28 weeks and you get about three games per team per week. That is the short answer to why the hockey season feels so long.
Opening night on September 29 is unusually early. The AP calls it the soonest play has ever started in North America.
Back-to-backs are not equal
Two more games without much more calendar means more games on consecutive nights and the load is uneven.
The AP reports that Pittsburgh has the most back-to-back sets with 15, while Vegas and Calgary have the fewest with eight each. Because starting goaltenders rarely play both nights, a team with 15 back-to-backs will usually give its backup more starts.
A shorter preseason
To make room, most teams play only four preseason games in 2026-27, down from six under the previous agreement. The 2026 preseason ran from September 19 to 26, with 65 games at NHL arenas and neutral venues.
With four games instead of six, coaches see less of fringe players and prospects, which tends to favour established players.
NHL 2026-27 Schedule: Dates Worth Circling
These are the key dates of the 2026-27 season, from opening night on September 29 to the start of the playoffs in April.
| Date | Event | Network |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 29, 2026 | Opening night: Carolina raises its championship banner against Florida | ESPN |
| Oct 13, 2026 | NHL Frozen Frenzy: all 32 teams play on one night | ESPN family |
| Dec 31, 2026 | Winter Classic: Utah hosts Colorado at Rice-Eccles Stadium, 6 p.m. ET | TNT |
| Feb 5, 2027 | All-Star Skills competition | ESPN |
| Feb 6, 2027 | All-Star Game | ABC |
| Feb 20, 2027 | Stadium Series: Dallas hosts Vegas at AT&T Stadium, 8 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Apr 10, 2027 | Final day of the regular season | Various |
| Week of Apr 12, 2027 | Stanley Cup Playoffs begin | TNT and ESPN |
Per the NHL’s national TV announcement, ESPN opened the season with a tripleheader: Carolina vs Florida at 5 p.m. ET, Rangers at Bruins at 8 p.m. ET and Blackhawks at Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Notice that the two outdoor games sit on different networks. That small detail is a good preview of the whole season: no single channel carries everything.
Start times can also move when a game is picked up nationally late in the season. A live electronic program guide set to your own time zone is more reliable than a schedule saved in September.
How the 84-Game Schedule Is Built
The league does not spread 84 games evenly across the other 31 teams. Each club plays its own division most often and both new games are divisional.
Beyond the division, every team plays the rest of its conference on a rotation and meets every club from the other conference at least twice, once at home and once away. Every club’s full fixture list is on NHL.com.
Because of this weighting, a team in a strong division faces more good opponents than a team in a weaker one, even though both play 84 games.
A Short History of NHL Season Length
NHL teams have played 84 games before, in 1992-93 and 1993-94. From 1995-96 to 2025-26 the schedule was 82 games.
| Season | Games per team | Teams | League total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | 84 | 24 | 1,008 |
| 1993-94 | 84 | 26 | 1,092 |
| 1995-96 to 2025-26 | 82 | 26 to 32 | Varies |
| 2026-27 | 84 | 32 | 1,344 |
A few seasons fall outside that pattern. The 1994-95 and 2012-13 seasons were cut to 48 games by lockouts and the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons were disrupted by the pandemic.
NHL Games per Season vs Other Leagues
The NHL now plays more regular-season games than the NBA and the NFL but about half as many as MLB.
| League | Games per team | Teams | Season window |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLB (baseball) | 162 | 30 | Late March to late September |
| NHL (hockey) | 84 | 32 | Late September to early April |
| NBA (basketball) | 82 | 30 | Late October to mid April |
| NFL (football) | 17 | 32 | September to early January |
The NHL has now passed the NBA after three decades of both playing 82. Hockey also packs nearly five times as many games as football into a season only twice as long.
Playoffs: How Many More Games?
Sixteen teams reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs, eight from each conference. Our guide to how many NHL teams make the playoffs explains the wild cards and how many points it takes to get in. All four rounds are best-of-seven, so a team that goes all the way plays between 16 and 28 playoff games.
| Scenario | Regular season | Playoffs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missed the playoffs | 84 | 0 | 84 |
| Swept in round one | 84 | 4 | 88 |
| Cup winner, every series to Game 7 | 84 | 28 | 112 |
How Long Is a Hockey Game and How Many Periods?
An NHL game has three periods of 20 minutes, for 60 minutes of playing time.
In real time, a typical game runs about two and a half hours because the clock stops for every whistle, penalty and commercial break. We timed all 1,312 games of 2025-26 to see exactly how long NHL games last, from regulation finishes to shootouts. Our full guide on how long NHL games last covers intermissions, overtime and playoff games.
What the 84-Game Season Changes
The two extra games bring more games on TV, a new base for records, a tighter playoff race and uneven workloads.
- More games on TV. The 2026-27 national package is the largest the league has put together, spread across more networks and apps than before.
- Records on a new base. Any single-season record, such as goals, points or wins, is now set over 84 games instead of 82.
- A tighter playoff race. Two extra divisional games mean two more chances to take points directly from a rival.
- Uneven workloads. Fifteen back-to-backs for Pittsburgh against eight for Vegas is a real difference by March.
Which Channels Show NHL Games in 2026-27?
In the United States, coverage is split between two national partners, each team’s local broadcaster and an out-of-market package.
TNT Sports
TNT carries 72 regular-season games, the Winter Classic and the 2027 Stanley Cup Final, according to the league’s announcement. Its games also appear on truTV and reach HBO Max subscribers on the Standard plan or above.
ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+
ESPN’s package covers 100 exclusive games:
- 53 games on ESPN and ABC
- 47 games streaming only on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu
ESPN and TNT split the first two playoff rounds and take one conference final each. ESPN’s app also carries NHL Power Play, an out-of-market package with more than 1,050 games for fans who live far from their team. If the difference between a TV channel and a streaming app is confusing, our explainer on IPTV vs OTT clears it up.
NHL Network
NHL Network runs a selection of games plus highlights and analysis and is carried by most cable providers and some streaming packages.
Where Your Team’s Local Games Live in 2026-27
Everything not on a national broadcast belongs to your team’s local rights holder. This is where most of a team’s 84 games live. It is also where blackouts come from: if your local broadcaster owns a game, the out-of-market package blacks it out in your area.
This is the part that changed most this season. Seven clubs stream local games on Prime Video, six stream on DAZN and six put most of their local games on free over-the-air TV. Here is where each of the 25 US-based teams plays.
| Team | Local TV home | Stream in market, no cable |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | FOX LA+ (KCOP 13), free antenna | Prime Video, included with Prime |
| Boston Bruins | NESN | NESN 360, $30/mo or $240/yr |
| Buffalo Sabres | MSG | DAZN (MSG+) |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Hurricanes Hockey Network | Prime Video add-on, $19.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Sports Network | CHSN app |
| Colorado Avalanche | Altitude Sports | Altitude+ |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Blue Jackets Hockey Network | Prime Video add-on, $19.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
| Dallas Stars | FOX 4 and FOX 4+ (17 games), free antenna | Prime Video, included with Prime |
| Detroit Red Wings | Detroit SportsNet | MLB App, $19.99/mo or $189.99/yr |
| Florida Panthers | The Spot South Florida, free antenna | PanthersPlus.TV |
| Los Angeles Kings | Angels Broadcast Television | DAZN, $19.99/mo or $129/season |
| Minnesota Wild | Wild+ | Prime Video add-on, $19.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
| Nashville Predators | The Spot Nashville 28, free antenna | Predators app |
| New Jersey Devils | MSG Sportsnet | DAZN (MSG+), $119/yr |
| New York Islanders | MSG | DAZN (MSG+), $119/yr |
| New York Rangers | MSG Network | DAZN (MSG+), $119/yr |
| Philadelphia Flyers | NBC Sports Philadelphia | Peacock add-on |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | SportsNet Pittsburgh | SNP 360, $21.99/mo or $99.99 per 6 months |
| San Jose Sharks | NBC Sports California | Peacock add-on |
| Seattle Kraken | KONG and KING 5 | Prime Video, included with Prime |
| St. Louis Blues | Team-run local network | Prime Video add-on, $19.99/mo or $99.99/yr |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | The Spot Tampa Bay 66, free antenna | Lightning app, $66/season |
| Utah Mammoth | Utah 16 (KUPX), free antenna | Mammoth+ |
| Vegas Golden Knights | The Spot Vegas 34, free antenna | KnightTime+ |
| Washington Capitals | Monumental Sports Network | Monumental+ ($19.99/mo or $179.99/yr) or DAZN |
What the table shows
- Six teams put most local games on free TV. The Ducks, Panthers, Predators, Lightning, Golden Knights and Mammoth air on over-the-air stations and the Stars add 17 games on FOX 4. Vegas puts 69 games on free TV and Anaheim 61 on FOX LA+.
- Prime Video works two ways. Ducks, Stars and Kraken local games are included with a regular Prime membership. For the Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Wild and Blues, the team’s network is a paid add-on at $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
- Six teams stream on DAZN. The Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Sabres, Capitals and Kings all stream there. In New York the MSG+ season pass is $119 and Kings fans pay $19.99 a month or $129 for the season.
- About half the teams still use a regional sports network, such as the Bruins on NESN, the Flyers on NBC Sports Philadelphia and the Penguins on SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Prices can change during the season, so check your team’s website before you pay. Always watch through licensed services such as the ones listed here.
Check your local option first
There are 172 national broadcast windows across ESPN, ABC, TNT and truTV in 2026-27, plus ESPN’s 47 streaming-only games. Spread across 32 clubs, most teams get only a handful of national appearances.
So the most useful step is to find your team in the table above first. A setup with every national channel but the wrong local option still misses most of the season. If you are weighing streaming against a cable package, our comparison of IPTV vs cable TV and our list of alternatives to cable TV lay out the options.
Is the 84-Game NHL Season Here to Stay?
For now, yes. The schedule is locked into a labour agreement that runs to September 2030, so barring a work stoppage this is the answer to how many NHL games in a season for the rest of the decade.
A page that still says an NHL team plays 82 games simply has not been updated since last season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the NHL going to 84 games?
It already has. The 84-game schedule took effect with the 2026-27 season and was agreed in the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, which runs to September 2030. It is not a one-year trial.
When did NHL go to 82 games?
In 1995-96. As part of the collective bargaining agreement signed after the 1994-95 lockout, neutral-site games were eliminated and the regular season dropped from 84 games to 82, where it stayed until 2026-27.
Did the NHL ever play 84 games?
Yes, in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Those seasons included neutral-site games, with 24 teams playing 1,008 games in 1992-93 and 26 teams playing 1,092 in 1993-94. The 2026-27 season is the first 84-game schedule since then.
How many NHL games in a season including playoffs?
It depends how far a team goes. A team that misses the playoffs finishes on 84. A team that wins the Stanley Cup with every series going to Game 7 plays 112 — 84 regular-season games plus 28 in the postseason.
Why is the hockey season so long?
Because 84 games per team, plus up to 28 playoff games, have to fit a 194-day calendar that avoids stacking games on consecutive nights. That works out to about three games a week per team. The playoffs then add two more months on top.
When does the NHL regular season start in 2026?
Opening night was Tuesday, September 29, 2026, with a nationally televised tripleheader on ESPN in the United States. The defending champion Carolina Hurricanes raised their banner against the Florida Panthers and the Rangers visited the Bruins the same night.
When did the 2026-27 NHL schedule come out?
The NHL released the full 2026-27 regular-season schedule on July 16, 2026. It covers 1,344 games from September 29, 2026 to April 10, 2027. The ESPN and TNT national windows were announced in a separate release, so check the channel for a specific game closer to the date.
When did the 2026 NHL preseason start?
The 2026 preseason ran from Saturday, September 19 to Saturday, September 26: an eight-day, 65-game slate across 36 NHL and neutral-site venues. It was much shorter than in past years, with most teams playing four exhibition games.
When does the 2026-27 NHL regular season end?
On Saturday, April 10, 2027, with all 32 teams in action on the final day. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin the following week and run into June.
Is TNT still showing NHL games in 2026-27?
Yes. TNT carries 72 regular-season games this season, plus the Winter Classic on December 31, when the Utah Mammoth host the Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. TNT is also the home of the 2027 Stanley Cup Final.
What channel is the 2027 Stanley Cup Final on?
TNT. ESPN and TNT alternate the Final each year and 2027 is TNT’s turn. The two networks also split the first two playoff rounds and take one conference final each, so following a team through a long playoff run means having access to both.
How do I watch NHL games that are blacked out in my area?
A blackout means your local rights holder owns that game, so out-of-market packages such as NHL Power Play on the ESPN app hide it in your area. The fix is your team’s local option: the regional network, a free over-the-air station or the team’s own streaming service, all listed in the team table above.
Are NHL games included with Amazon Prime?
It depends on the team. Local Ducks, Stars and Kraken games stream at no extra cost with a regular Prime membership in their home markets. Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Wild and Blues games need a paid add-on inside Prime Video at $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Outside those home markets, these games are not on Prime.
Which NHL teams can I watch free with an antenna?
Six teams put most of their local games on free over-the-air TV in 2026-27: the Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights. The Dallas Stars also air 17 games on FOX 4. You need to live inside the team’s broadcast area to pick up the signal.
Which NHL teams stream on DAZN?
Six: the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings. The New York teams and the Sabres stream through MSG+ on DAZN, the Capitals through a Monumental Sports Network partnership and the Kings through Angels Broadcast Television. Local streaming only works inside each team’s home region.
Summary and Your Next Step
The answer to how many NHL games in a season changed this year for the first time since the 1990s: 84 per team and 1,344 across the league, played over 194 days from September 29 to April 10, with 16 teams moving on to the playoffs.
Everything else follows from that one number: the September start, the four-game preseason, the extra divisional games and Pittsburgh’s 15 back-to-backs.
Next step: read our guide on how long NHL games last or browse more sports and streaming guides on the IPTVService.Shop blog.
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