The NHL announced the schedule for the 2025-26 season's opening night on Monday. The Florida Panthers will raise their second-straight Stanley Cup banner against the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins traveling to New York to take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Opening night will conclude with the Colorado Avalanche taking on the Los Angeles Kings.
All games will take place on Tuesday, October 7, on ESPN.
This will be the second straight season that the Penguins will open with the Rangers. The Rangers came to PPG Paints Arena on October 9 to start the 2024-25 season and thrashed the Penguins 6-0. The game was virtually over by the end of the first period since the Rangers scored three goals in the opening frame.
This year's version takes on a much bigger meaning, as former Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan will face his old team immediately. He led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, along with seven total playoff appearances. Sullivan is also the winningest and longest-tenured head coach in franchise history.
He appeared set to be the Penguins' head coach for an 11th-straight season before he and the Penguins agreed to part ways on April 28. It was a tough decision, but one that's for the best, as the Penguins have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and haven't won a playoff series since 2018. They are also in a rebuild and won't be genuine contenders for a bit.
"I talked to him every day throughout the year, and worked together every day throughout the year, and there were times throughout the year where I started to think that it may just be time for a number of reasons," Penguins general manager and president Kyle Dubas told reporters regarding the decision. "It's a lot to ask of somebody when they've done such a long and successful job here to be managing that and continue to transition the team through."
The Rangers, who fired Peter Laviolette after missing the playoffs this past season, wasted no time and hired Sullivan to be their next head coach on May 2. They believe he can unlock more of their players' potential and help them return to the playoffs this upcoming season.
It's poetic that Sullivan will face his former team right at the beginning of the season after all the success he had with the Penguins during his 10-year reign as head coach. He will have the opportunity to coach against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust (unless Rust gets traded), all players with whom he won championships. It will also be bittersweet for those four players since they loved having him behind the bench. The NHL loves a good storyline, and they are getting one by scheduling these two teams on opening night.
Sullivan changed the way the Penguins played in 2016 with a super aggressive forecheck and stingy defense. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the San Jose Sharks remains the perfect example of what his system looks like when it's functioning at its best. The Penguins overwhelmed the Sharks in the offensive zone, doubling them up in 5v5 high-danger chances, 18-9. None of the Sharks' HD chances came in the third period. Heck, they only had three total scoring chances at 5v5 in that period despite being down a goal.
Penguins Will Open 2025-26 NHL Season Against RangersThe Pittsburgh Penguins will open the 2025-26 NHL season against one of their biggest rivals.
Even outside of the Sullivan factor, the Rangers are one of the Penguins' biggest rivals and have been for several decades. The rivalry has intensified significantly since the two teams met in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. The Penguins had a 3-1 series lead over the Rangers and looked destined to move on to the second round before the Rangers stormed back to win the series in seven games. Since then, a lot of the regular-season games between the two sides have been nasty.
The Rangers won't have Penguins-killer Chris Kreider for any of the matchups this season, which is a big deal. Kreider has nine goals and 12 points in his last 10 games against the Penguins, but was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in June. Instead of facing Kreider three to four times a season, the Penguins will only get to see him twice this year.
That said, the Rangers still have several players who can cause you trouble, including Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, JT Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Adam Fox, among others. It's going to make for an entertaining start to the season and has the added fuel of the Sullivan factor.
Sullivan won't receive his video tribute from the Penguins right away, as the game will be at MSG, but it will come as soon as the Rangers play in Pittsburgh for the first time. The rest of the 2025-26 NHL schedule will drop on Wednesday.
(Data via Natural Stat Trick).
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