The three most important events of the NHL offseason are the draft, the opening of free agency, and the release of the upcoming season’s schedule. For the New York Rangers, the latter finally signifies that the page has turned on a disastrous 2024–25 campaign.
The Rangers’ first two games had been unveiled ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s league-wide schedule release. The club was one of six teams selected to headline the NHL’s opening night slate on Oct. 7 and will host the Pittsburgh Penguins — the former club of new head coach Mike Sullivan — at Madison Square Garden that evening at 8 p.m. ET. In the hours leading up to Wednesday’s 1 p.m. drop time, the Buffalo Sabres revealed that they would host the Rangers for their home opener two days later on Oct. 9.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Rangers’ 2025–26 schedule.
Mike Sullivan faces former team twice in first week
The Rangers and Penguins will begin their season with some familiar faces in new places.
Sullivan will face his former team — which he led to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 — on opening night. Sullivan is joined on the Rangers bench by former head coach David Quinn, who was an assistant coach under Sullivan in Pittsburgh and followed him to New York.
Dan Muse, the Penguins’ new head coach, was an assistant coach of the Rangers under Peter Laviolette for the past two seasons.
The Rangers will face Pittsburgh twice in the first week, as they will head to PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 11.
J.T. Miller’s return to Vancouver
Vancouver Canucks fans often chanted “J.T. Miller!” through the end of the 2023–24 regular season and throughout the Canucks’ 2024 playoff run, as he cemented himself as a fan favorite.
Things may have soured in Vancouver between Miller and teammate Elias Pettersson last season, leading to the trade that brought Miller back to the Rangers, but Canucks fans haven’t forgotten the energy Miller brought during their magical 2023–24 season.
Miller faced the Canucks once since the trade (a 5–3 Rangers home win on March 22), but has yet to return to Vancouver, where he spent six seasons. As of now, this game will also mark Carson Soucy’s first game in Vancouver since he was traded to the Rangers ahead of the trade deadline.
Trouba, Kreider return to Broadway
Jacob Trouba and Chris Kreider were both victims of Chris Drury’s roster makeover over the past year.
Both were dealt in separate deals to the Anaheim Ducks, joining former Rangers Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano.
The two clubs’ Dec. 15 tilt will mark the first time Trouba and Kreider return to New York.
Road trippin’ through the holidays
The Rangers, who are usually at home in the days surrounding the NHL’s holiday break, will play their final home game before Christmas on Dec. 20. Following their afternoon game against the Philadelphia Flyers, they’ll embark on a six-game road trip that takes them through the holiday break.
They begin the following evening in Nashville, and will then head to Washington, Long Island (which is hardly a road game), Carolina, Washington (again), and Florida before returning home on Jan. 5, 2026, to face the Utah Mammoth.
The six-game road trip is the club’s longest of the season.
The 21-day Olympic break
The Rangers will not play any games between Feb. 5 and Feb. 26 as the NHL will pause for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The Rangers will bookend the Olympic games with home contests against the Hurricanes (Feb. 5) and Flyers (Feb. 26).
2026 will mark the first time the NHL has sent its players to the Olympics since 2014, when the games were held in Sochi, Russia.
Rivalry games against the Islanders, Devils
The Rangers will face their new-look crosstown rival Islanders four times this season, twice at home and twice on the road.
The Islanders will visit Madison Square Garden on Nov. 8. The Rangers will head to Long Island on Dec. 27 as part of their season-high six-game road trip. The two clubs will face off in a back-to-back, home-and-home slate on Jan. 28, 2026 (on Long Island) and the following night at The Garden.
The Rangers swept the season series against the Islanders in 2024–25.
The Rangers will face the Devils three times in March. They will head to Newark on March 7, 2026, and will host the Devils on March 18 and March 31.
Early start: 13 afternoon games
The Rangers will play 13 afternoon games in 2025–26. Afternoon games present a unique set of circumstances for players, given the truncated timeline of their usual game day routines.
The early starts include a back-to-back, in Boston on Black Friday (Nov. 28) and the next day at Madison Square Garden against the Lightning.
They face another early start in Washington on New Year’s Eve. All three of their Saturday games in January (Jan. 10 at Boston, Jan. 17 at Philadelphia, Jan. 31 at Pittsburgh) are afternoon games.
Pure grinding: 13 back-to-backs
Perhaps the most challenging element of the Rangers’ schedule is their 13 sets of back-to-back games, beginning on the first weekend of the season, where they’ll play in Pittsburgh on Saturday night and return home to face the Capitals on Sunday.
In November, the Rangers face consecutive weekends with a quick turnaround. They play in Detroit on Nov. 7, then return home the following evening to host the Islanders. The following weekend, they will play in Columbus on Nov. 15 and return home the following evening to play the Red Wings.
In December, the Rangers will play a stretch of six games in nine days, including a rarely-seen Monday and Tuesday home back-to-back against Anaheim and Vancouver (Dec. 15 and 16). That’s a lot of former teammates returning to The Garden in short order.
Being on the Eastern Seaboard somewhat minimizes the effects of the NHL’s gruelling travel schedule, compared to the West Coast teams. But the Rangers face several quick turnarounds. Following their Dec. 20 home game versus Philadelphia, they’ll head to Nashville to face the Predators the following evening. On March 9, they play in Philadelphia and then face the Calgary Flames at home the next day. On March 18, they face the Devils at home and immediately head to Columbus afterward.
Finishing through the gauntlet
Should the Rangers find themselves in a tight race for the final spot near the end of the season, they’d better bring their A-game.
They conclude the regular season on the road against the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. These are three teams that have been in the playoffs and made it to at least the Conference Final in each of the past four seasons.
The Stars, Panthers and Lightning are also the caliber of team the Rangers will have to beat, should they hope to get back to the playoffs.
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