The 2026-27 NHL schedule is here, and as we do every summer while waiting for the puck to drop on the new season, we’ve spent time scouring the slate of games to come up with intriguing road trip itineraries.
This year brings about a big change, as the league’s 32 teams will now play 84 regular-seasons, up from the longtime standard of 82. In exchange, each club’s preseason slate has dropped from six games to four.
As usual, I expect to hit the road for hockey on at least a couple occasions this season. Last season I spent some time visiting a few of the arenas out west, such as Delta Center in Utah and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, while also checking out the New York Rangers’ Madison Square Garden.
Though I haven’t made any concrete plans as of this writing, I do hope to return to a few arenas that I haven’t seen (at least for NHL games) in a decade or more.
For those of you who are interested in constructing your own NHL road trip this upcoming season, I’m here to help. Each season we put together a list of multi-city, multi-game itineraries designed to help you visit a number of arenas in as short a timeframe as possible, being mindful of a traveler’s time and budget.
We do posts like this for the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball as well. If you haven’t seen one of these road trip posts before, here are the guidelines that we look to follow:
- I look to pack as many games into as small a timeframe as possible, at least considering typical travel times (I won’t suggest you travel cross-country for games on back-to-back days, for instance).
- I do my best to put together trips where you’re traveling in the same general direction as you go from city to city (so no zig-zagging around).
- I try to limit the number of times you see a particular team to twice per trip (admittedly difficult, as many times it’s easier to plan a trip through a region because a certain team is on a road jaunt through it).
- And I look only at minimum four-venue trips, because hey, longer trips are more fun.
With that out of the way, check out the NHL road trip itineraries we’ve come up with based off the 2026-27 schedule. And if you’re looking for tickets for these or any other NHL game this season, you can shop for them on Vivid Seats.
1) The East Coast starter
Wednesday, Sept. 30: Penguins at Flyers
Thursday, Oct. 1: Flyers at Devils
Saturday, Oct. 3: Devils at Islanders
Sunday, Oct. 4: Mammoth at Rangers
Monday, Oct. 5: Senators at Bruins
The expanded NHL schedule in 2026-27 means the regular season starts earlier than it ever has, on September 29. One day later, kick off your hockey-themed travels with a stop at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena!
From there, head up the Eastern Seaboard and check off all three New York City-area arenas: Prudential Center, UBS Arena and Madison Square Garden, before finishing the trip off at TD Garden in Boston.
2) A West Coast Halloween
Friday, Oct. 30: Devils at Golden Knights
Saturday, Oct. 31: Sabres at Kings
Sunday, Nov. 1: Senators at Ducks
Monday, Nov. 2: Flames at Sharks
We find nothing frightful at all about this road trip that takes you to four Pacific Division arenas in four days over Halloween weekend! It starts with the defending Western Conference champion Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, then continues on to Southern California with stops at both Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and Honda Center in Anaheim. Finally, head north to the Bay Area and catch the Sharks at SAP Center.
A couple notes: 1) Both the Golden Knights and Kings games have afternoon start times (3 pm and 1 pm, respectively), and 2) if you preferred, you can start the trip in San Jose instead, with Sharks hosting the Canucks on the night of Thursday, Oct. 29.
3) Thanskgiving week on ice
Monday, Nov. 23: Mammoth at Jets
Wednesday, Nov. 25: Mammoth at Wild
Friday, Nov. 27: Rangers at Blackhawks
Saturday, Nov. 28: Capitals at Blues OR Predators at Red Wings
If you’re one of the lucky ones who gets all of Thanksgiving week off from work, why not spend some of it traveling to watch hockey? This year, you can head to the Midwest for a good multi-city opportunity.
Begin the week north of the border in Winnipeg, watching the Jets take on the Mammoth at Canada Life Centre. Then, follow the Mammoth down to the Twin Cities (about a 450-mile trip), where they’ll take on the Wild at Grand Casino Arena.
After celebrating Thanksgiving on the road, you’ll spend Black Friday in Chicago seeing the Blackhawks at United Center, before running into a Choose Your Own Adventure situation to finish the trip. Either go south and see the Blues at Enterprise Center, or head east and catch the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
4) Winter Classic and more!
Tuesday, Dec. 29: Devils at Mammoth
Thursday, Dec. 31: Avalanche at Mammoth (NHL Winter Classic)
Saturday, Jan. 2: Avalanche at Golden Knights
Sunday, Jan. 3: Flyers at Ducks
Monday, Jan. 4: Flyers at Kings
Experience an NHL outdoor game while checking off a few Western Conference arenas on this hockey trip to ring in the New Year!
Spend some of your holiday week in Salt Lake City, first catching the Mammoth at Delta Center before taking in the Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve at Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah football team.
After that, head down Interstate 15 for more hockey, with stops at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Honda Center in Anaheim and finally, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
5) Best of the Pacific Northwest
Wednesday, Jan. 13: Sharks at Oilers
Thursday, Jan. 14: Sharks at Flames
Saturday, Jan. 16: Blue Jackets at Canucks
Monday, Jan. 18: Blue Jackets at Kraken
Check out this four-game jaunt through Western Canada, starting with the two arenas in Alberta: Rogers Place in Edmonton and the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. Note that the latter will be in its final season before the Flames move into a new arena being constructed nearby.
Then, cross the Rockies and arrive in Vancouver to see the Canucks at Rogers Arena, and finally cross the border to watch the Kraken in an MLK Day matinee at Climate Pledge Arena.
6) Great Lakes & frozen ponds
Friday, Feb. 26: Senators at Sabres
Sunday, Feb. 28: Rangers at Penguins
Monday, March 1: Hurricanes at Blue Jackets
Tuesday, March 2: Avalanche at Predators
With the All-Star break well in the rearview mirror and playoff races beginning to heat up, hit the road for this four-game swing around the Great Lakes.
Kick things off in Buffalo to see the resurgent Sabres at KeyBank Center before heading to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Nationwide Arena in Columbus and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
7) Epic East Coast jaunt
Wednesday, March 17: Islanders at Capitals
Thursday, March 18: Bruins at Flyers
Saturday, March 20: Flyers at Islanders (3 p.m.), Maple Leafs at Devils (7 p.m.)
Sunday, March 21: Sabres at Islanders (3 p.m.), Capitals at Rangers (7 p.m.)
Tuesday, March 23: Sabres at Bruins
Here’s another chance on the 2026-27 NHL schedule to see several of the arenas on the East Coast, including two different two-games-in-one-day opportunities!
Begin in Washington, D.C., with a Capitals game at Capital One Arena, and then a Flyers game at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Then, spend the weekend in New York City and familiarize yourself with the transit system there so that you can see all three local venues: the Islanders’ UBS Arena, the Devils’ Prudential Center and the Rangers’ Madison Square Garden.
Cap things off with a trip to Boston to see the Bruins at TD Garden.
8) The final-week frenzy
Sunday, April 4: Red Wings at Senators
Monday, April 5: Bruins at Maple Leafs
Wednesday, April 7: Bruins at Sabres
Thursday, April 8: Flyers at Blue Jackets
Friday, April 9: Penguins at Red Wings
Saturday, April 10: Kraken at Blackhawks
Cap off the 2026-27 NHL regular season with this six-game trip across some of the league’s most passionate markets. You’ll start at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre and then work your way west, with stops at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, KeyBank Center in Buffalo, Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, and finally, United Center in Chicago on the season’s final day. Whew!
By the way, there are undoubtedly more trip ideas that I passed over or simply overlooked on the 2026-27 NHL schedule. if you’ve got a trip idea you’d like to share, or better yet, if you’ve got a great hockey road trip already planned, let us know about it!
