The Florida Panthers will open the 2026-27 National Hockey League regular season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes before hosting the Minnesota Wild in their home opener.
Florida released its schedule July 16, with the regular season set to include 84 games. The Panthers will face each Atlantic Division opponent four times, every other Eastern Conference team three times and each Western Conference team twice.
The schedule includes 42 games at Amerant Bank Arena and features an opening four-game road trip, two five-game homestands and several returns by former Panthers players.
Panthers open season with four-game road trip
Florida will begin the season at Lenovo Center against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 5 p.m. ET. The Panthers will continue the road trip against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 1, the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 4 and the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 6.
The Panthers ranked second in the National Hockey League in road penalty-kill percentage over the past three seasons at 82.9 percent. Florida’s preseason schedule includes a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. ET and a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. ET.
Home opener scheduled for Oct. 10
The Panthers will open their home schedule against the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 10 at Amerant Bank Arena. Florida has an all-time home-opener record of 21-7-2-2 and has won its last seven home openers.
Florida will visit the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Oct. 21. The game will mark Brady Tkachuk’s first return to Ottawa as an opposing player after he joined the Panthers.
Tkachuk led the Senators in goals with 213, assists with 463 and points with 463 after making his National Hockey League debut in 2018. During his introductory press conference with the Panthers, Tkachuk said of the fans in Ottawa, “They’ll always have a piece of my heart.”
Key rivalry and rematch dates
The Panthers will host the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. ET. Florida also will host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 28 and Dec. 26 before visiting Tampa Bay at Benchmark International Arena on Feb. 16 and March 23.
Florida owns a 14-10-3 regular-season record against the Lightning since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. The Panthers will participate in Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Saturday, April 10.
December will include seven home games. The Panthers will host the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 21, the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 26, the Nashville Predators on Dec. 28 and the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 30 at Amerant Bank Arena.
Former Panthers scheduled to return
Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist will return to Amerant Bank Arena with the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 18. A.J. Greer will return with the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 20, followed by Sergei Bobrovsky with the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 6.
Rodrigues and Bobrovsky are two-time Stanley Cup champions. Boqvist and Greer also have won the Stanley Cup.
Busy finish at Amerant Bank Arena
The Panthers will have consecutive five-game homestands from Dec. 19-30 and March 2-12. March will feature eight home games, while November and December will each include seven home games.
Florida’s home schedule includes 13 Saturday games, eight Thursday games, six Tuesday games, five Monday games, four Wednesday games, four Friday games and two Sunday games. The Panthers will play two Saturday games at Amerant Bank Arena each month from October through March.
Florida will close the regular season by hosting the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, April 10. That date also is one of the Panthers’ Frozen Frenzy dates.
The Panthers posted a 76-40-7 home record over the past three seasons and ranked fifth in the National Hockey League in fewest goals allowed per game at 2.65.
Source: Original report