The wait is over. The NHL's 2026-27 regular season opens on Tuesday night — the league's first 84-game campaign since 1993-94, after the new collective bargaining agreement added two extra divisional games per team. The night starts in Raleigh, where the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes raise their second championship banner before hosting the Florida Panthers — the 2024 and 2025 champions, who missed last season's playoffs and have since traded for Brady Tkachuk to line up alongside his brother Matthew.

Canada gets its own doubleheader. The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens in an Original Six opener that could feature the NHL debut of No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, before the Edmonton Oilers — under new head coach Mike Babcock — host the Vancouver Canucks, who begin the Manny Malhotra era. Elsewhere on the night, the New York Rangers visit the Boston Bruins in another Original Six clash, and Western Conference champions Vegas Golden Knights host the Chicago Blackhawks in the late game.

Wednesday keeps the intensity high with a rivalry doubleheader: the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Philadelphia Flyers in a rematch of last spring's Eastern Conference first round — won by the Flyers in six games — followed by Artemi Panarin's Los Angeles Kings at the Colorado Avalanche. There is also plenty for European fans to look forward to: the league has added a steady stream of Monday matinee games timed for European primetime this season, and the NHL Global Series heads to Helsinki (Carolina vs. Seattle, 12 and 14 November) and Düsseldorf (Ottawa vs. Chicago, 18 and 20 December).

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Florida Panthers: Tuesday, 29 September, 23:00 CEST
Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs: Wednesday, 30 September, 01:00 CEST (night of 29 September)
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins: Wednesday, 30 September, 02:00 CEST (night of 29 September)
Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers: Wednesday, 30 September, 04:00 CEST (night of 29 September)
Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights: Wednesday, 30 September, 04:30 CEST (night of 29 September)
Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers: Thursday, 1 October, 01:30 CEST (night of 30 September)
Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche: Thursday, 1 October, 04:00 CEST (night of 30 September)

The 2026/27 UEFA Nations League has already delivered plenty of shocks. In Augsburg, Greece claimed a first-ever win over Germany when Dimitris Kourbelis's deflected strike sealed a 1-0 victory on Sunday — leaving Jürgen Klopp's side with just one point from their opening two games after the 1-1 draw in the Netherlands. The Dutch, under Xavi Hernández, then won 2-1 in Belgrade against Serbia, with Mexx Meerdink scoring twice on his first Oranje start. Elsewhere, defending champions Portugal won 2-1 in Norway thanks to a Gonçalo Ramos winner, while Denmark beat Wales 2-0.

Saturday's headline fixture went to reigning world champions Spain, who edged England 3-2 in a five-goal thriller at Wembley, while Croatia beat Czechia 2-1 in the same group. In Group A1, Belgium opened with a 2-0 win over Italy and France won 1-0 in Türkiye. Matchday 2 wraps up with Belgium vs. France and Türkiye vs. Italy on Monday, followed by Czechia vs. England and Spain vs. Croatia on Tuesday.

Matchday 3 then arrives quickly. In Group A2, Greece (six points) host the Netherlands (four) on Thursday in a top-of-the-table clash, while Germany host Serbia — who have lost both of their games — with Klopp's side desperate to get their campaign moving. Friday brings France vs. Italy, and on Saturday England travel to Croatia for a game in Rijeka played behind closed doors — a UEFA sanction after crowd trouble in Croatia's Nations League quarter-final against France — before Spain host Czechia. Germany then face Greece again on Sunday in Matchday 4, making Thursday's result against Serbia all the more important.

Germany vs. Serbia: Thursday, 1 October, 20:45 CEST
Greece vs. Netherlands: Thursday, 1 October, 20:45 CEST
Denmark vs. Portugal: Thursday, 1 October, 20:45 CEST
France vs. Italy: Friday, 2 October, 20:45 CEST
Croatia vs. England: Saturday, 3 October, 18:00 CEST
Spain vs. Czechia: Saturday, 3 October, 20:45 CEST
Greece vs. Germany (Matchday 4): Sunday, 4 October, 20:45 CEST

Monday Night Football closes out Week 3 at Soldier Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles (2-0) visit the Chicago Bears (1-1). Philadelphia have scraped through two tight games — 24-22 against Washington and 24-20 at Tennessee — while Chicago opened with a 59-37 rout at Carolina before a 9-3 home loss to Minnesota. That defeat cost the Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to a hamstring injury, leaving Tyson Bagent (who cleared concussion protocol on Sunday) or Case Keenum to lead the offense. The key matchup is on the ground: Chicago rushed for 281 yards in beating the Eagles last November and have run for 425 yards through two games this season, while Philadelphia — who also have questions around Saquon Barkley's fitness — have allowed 254 rushing yards in their first two.

Thursday Night Football then opens Week 4 with an AFC North rivalry as the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to the Cleveland Browns. Both teams arrive at 2-1: the Steelers edged Cincinnati 30-27 last time out, while the Browns beat Carolina 21-18. History points firmly towards Cleveland — the Browns have won their last nine home Thursday-night games, including four against the Steelers, while Pittsburgh are 0-4 in Cleveland on Thursdays since 2009. With both teams on a short week and the reigning AFC North champions facing a surprisingly resilient Browns side, this is a genuine early-season test in a division where every result counts.

Eagles at Bears: Monday, 28 September, 02:15 CEST (night of 29 September)
Steelers at Browns: Thursday, 1 October, 02:15 CEST (night of 2 October)