NHL Opening Night 2026 Live Blog: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Oilers, Hurricanes, Panthers Among 10 Teams In Action

After a long and eventful summer, hockey is officially back.

Welcome to The Hockey News' opening night live blog for the 2026-27 NHL season, where we'll be providing all the latest news from Tuesday's five-game slate to kick off what should be an incredible year on the ice.

Check in for all the most important updates from around the league throughout the evening to keep you in the know.

The first puck drop of the regular season took place in Raleigh, where the host Carolina Hurricanes paraded earlier this year after capturing the franchise's second Cup championship.

They take on a Florida Panthers team looking for a huge bounce-back, with reinforcements in the form of former Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and a healthy Alexander Barkov .

After the team was introduced, Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal took a lap at Lenovo Center with the Stanley Cup to the reception of cheers from the home crowd before the championship banner was officially raised.

Amid a quite first period for both sides, sparks began to fly when Hurricanes enforcer Nic Deslauriers laid a thunderous hit on Lars Eller . Panthers journeyman Bokondji Imama initiated a scrap with Deslauriers in response to the collision, and both players were ushered to the penalty box in the final minutes of the opening frame.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are welcoming many new players to the lineup on opening night in hopes of rebounding after a disastrous season. That list includes first-overall pick Gavin McKenna, defenseman Darren Raddysh , an entirely new bottom-six, and newly-acquired sniper Kirill Marchenko .

Looking to spoil the party at Scotiabank Arena are the Montreal Canadiens , who are coming off an Eastern Conference Final appearance and boast one of the most dynamic young rosters in the NHL.

After questions surrounding Marchenko's availability for the Maple Leafs' opening night, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman confirmed that the 26-year-old has gone through the necessary immigration processes to sort out his work visa.

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