Hockey talk

Hockey talk

• When does the 2026-27 NHL season start?⌄

  The 2026-27 regular season opens on September 29, 2026. The regular schedule ends on April 10, 2027.

• When does the NHL season end?⌄

  The playoffs can run to June 10, 2027. The Stanley Cup is awarded at the end of the final, a best-of-seven series.

• How many games does a team play?⌄

  84 games per team in the 2026-27 regular season. It was 82 for two decades; it changed, and we read it from the league rather than recall it.

• How many teams are in the NHL?⌄

  32, split into two conferences of two divisions each. Sixteen of them reach the playoffs.

• Who leads the NHL in points?⌄

  Evan Bouchard (EDM) with 5 points in 2026-27.

• Who has scored the most goals?⌄

  Evan Bouchard (EDM), 3 goals in 2026-27.

• Does the NHL have a salary cap?⌄

  Yes, and it is hard: $104.0M per team in 2026-27. In the offseason a club may exceed it by 10%; compliance is due at the first game.

• How does the draft lottery work?⌄

  Teams that miss the playoffs share lottery odds, the weakest holding the most. Two draws decide the top two picks, and no team can move up more than ten places — so finishing last does not guarantee the first pick.

• How many teams make the playoffs?⌄

  Sixteen: the top three from each division plus two wild cards per conference. Four best-of-seven rounds lead to the Stanley Cup.

• Who plays in the NHL tonight?⌄

  8 games today: Philadelphia Flyers — New Jersey Devils (7:00 p.m.) · Tampa Bay Lightning — New York Rangers (7:00 p.m.) · Buffalo Sabres — Columbus Blue Jackets (7:00 p.m.) · Minnesota Wild — Nashville Predators (8:00 p.m.) · Seattle Kraken — Calgary Flames (9:00 p.m.) · Chicago Blackhawks — Utah Mammoth (9:30 p.m.) · Edmonton Oilers — Vancouver Canucks (10:00 p.m.) · Florida Panthers — San Jose Sharks (10:00 p.m.). Times are Eastern.

• What channel are NHL games on?⌄

  In Canada, the next games are on TVAS, SNW, SNP, SN1. Each game carries its broadcaster on the schedule.

• What are the NHL standings?⌄

  Leading: Pittsburgh Penguins (2 pts, 1-0-0), Colorado Avalanche (2 pts, 1-0-0), Vegas Golden Knights (2 pts, 1-0-0). The full standings, division by division, update after every game.

• What is the best team in the NHL right now?⌄

  On the overall standings, Pittsburgh Penguins lead with 2 points in 1 games. That is the honest measure; the rest is opinion.

• What is the NHL?⌄

  The National Hockey League gathers 32 clubs, 25 in the United States and 7 in Canada, split into two conferences of two divisions. Founded in 1917, it awards the Stanley Cup each spring — the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America.

• How long is the NHL season?⌄

  About 27 weeks of regular season, October to April, followed by two months of playoffs. With training camp and the final, a hockey year fills nine.

Records that stand

Numbers people think they know, that move: Ovechkin passed Gretzky. So we read them rather than recite them.

• Most career points

  2,857

  Wayne Gretzky

  1979-80 to 1998-99

• Most career goals

  929

  Alex Ovechkin

  2005-06 to 2025-26

• Most career assists

  1,963

  Wayne Gretzky

  1979-80 to 1998-99

• Most games played

  1,779

  Patrick Marleau

  1997-98 to 2020-21