​The 2026-27 NHL season will have two major differences.Each team will play 84 games for the first time since 2003-04 and as a result, the season will start in September.The season usually starts in early October but the date was moved to Sept. 29 to accommodate the extra two games per team.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe opening day schedule was announced on Wednesday, July 15, and will feature five games, including the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes raising their banner before a 5 p.m. ET game against the 2024 and 2025 champion Florida Panthers.The Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights will host the Chicago Blackhawks at 10:30 p.m. ET.Three of the games will be shown on ESPN and the other two on Sportsnet.The full 2026-27 schedule will be announced on Thursday afternoon.1 / 28Forward Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he will join brother Matthews.(James Guillory, Imagn Images)The NHL never rests, and USA TODAY is keeping tabs on the league all year long with reporters covering every team and transaction. Follow the news on our NHL hub. Get our USA TODAY Sports newsletter in your inbox every morning and join our WhatsApp channel to get the latest updates right in your texts.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL 2026-27 schedule will start Sept. 29 with 5 games: Here are details