Hockey is less than three months away! And now you can make your hockey plans for the Devils’ 2025-26 regular-season thanks to the schedule release today!
Here are some noteworthy items from the schedule and key dates to circle on your calendar.
NJ helps the Devils announce their 2025-26 regular-season schedule, with help from “friends”
Road Trip Start: Oct. 9 – 13
The Devils will open the season with a three-game road trip, with the regular-season opener being a rematch of Round One of last year’s playoffs against Carolina. The trip continues through Tampa Bay and Columbus.
Hosting the Champs: Oct. 16
The Devils’ home opener presented by Citizens will feature the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers coming to town.
McMatchup: Oct 18
Two days after hosting the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Devils will host the back-to-back defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers for a Saturday afternoon tilt (3:30 p.m.). Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and company come to town. And current Devils forward Connor Brown will face his former team.
Going the Distance: Nov. 12 – 22
The Devils’ have two long road trips on the season starting with a stretch in November of five games over 11 days with stops in Chicago, Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida and Philadelphia.
Turkey Week: Nov. 24 – Dec. 5
The Devils will play six of seven games at home surrounding Thanksgiving. They host Detroit (Monday) and St. Louis (Wednesday) before Thanksgiving. After they’re on the road for a game in Buffalo on Friday before hosting a four-game homestand against Philadelphia, Columbus, Dallas and Vegas.
Olympic Break: Feb. 6 – 24
The NHL will take a break for the Winter Olympic Games for two-plus weeks in February. Much like last season’s Four Nations tournament, this will be a chance for some players to represent their country in the quest for Olympic gold and for others to take a break, rest and recover.
Home Cooking: March 3 – 16
In an interesting scheduling quirk, the Devils will be home for the first half of March during a season-long seven-game homestand over 14 days. The Devils will host some quality draws in Florida, Toronto, NY Rangers, Detroit, Calgary, Los Angeles and Boston.
Road Living: March 18-28
After spending the first half of the month at home, the Devils will be on the road for the second half of the month. They’ll have their second five-game, 11-day road trip. The Devils will play the NY Rangers and Washington before going west to face Dallas and Nashville, and finishing in Carolina.
Finales: April 12 and 14
The Devils will hold their final home regular-season game against the Ottawa Senators. New Jersey completes the regular-season slate on the road in Boston.
Notables:
The annual Hughes Bowl will take place in New Jersey on Dec. 14 on Sunday afternoon. They’ll face off in Vancouver in January on the 23rd.
The Devils play their biggest rival – the NY Rangers – three times. But oddly, their first matchup isn’t until March. The Hudson River Rivalry below…
March 7 at New Jersey
March 18 at NY Rangers
March 31 at NY Rangers
The Devils face the back-to-back Cup champions, Florida, three times, including in the home opener. Matchups below…
Oct. 16 at New Jersey
Nov. 20 at Florida
March 3 at New Jersey
The California trip will be held in late October/early November. It will include a stop in Denver.
Oct. 28 at Colorado
Oct. 30 at San Jose
Nov. 1 at LA Kings
Nov. 2 at Anaheim
New Jersey will hit western Canada in late January while tacking on the Kraken.
Jan. 19 at Calgary
Jan. 20 at Edmonton
Jan. 23 at Vancouver
Jan. 25 at Seattle
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