​The New York Rangers will start their 101st NHL season by doing something they didn’t do in any of the first 100 – playing a regular-season game in September.With the NHL bumping the regular season up to 84 games, the Rangers open the 2026-27 campaign by traveling to Boston for a nationally televised game (on ESPN) against the Bruins at TD Garden on Sept. 29. The Blueshirts will head back to New York after that game to get ready for their home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 1, followed by a visit to Detroit the next night for the Red Wings’ home opener.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe League released home openers for all 32 teams on Wednesday. The full schedule is set to come out Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.The Rangers are 42-43-1 with 13 ties in season openers, including a 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at MSG last season on Oct. 7, 2025.It’s the first time in 30 years that the Rangers open their season in Boston. On Oct. 5, 1996, the Original Six rivals played to a 4-4 tie at the then-Fleet Center. The Blueshirts trailed 4-2 after two periods, but goals by Luc Robitaille and Adam Graves in a 5:11 span of the third got them even. Graves scored twice and Mark Messier finished with three assists.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Rangers certainly hope for a better outcome than their last visit to TD Garden. Though New York won two of three games against the Bruins last season, including a 6-2 win in Boston on Nov. 29, their loss was a 10-2 embarrassment at TD Garden on Jan. 10. David Pastrnak had six assists, and rookie Marat Khusnutdinov scored four goals and assisted on another.Overall, the Rangers are 116-175-3 with 42 ties in Boston, although they’ve split their past 12 visits.The Rangers open their home schedule against the Lightning for the second time in five seasons. The Rangers knocked off the Lightning 3-1 at the Garden on Oct. 11, 2022; Mika Zibanejad scored twice and Igor Shesterkin made 25 saves.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Blueshirts technically opened their 2008-09 home schedule against the Lightning on Oct. 5, 2008, with a 2-1 win — but the game was played in Prague. New York and Tampa Bay began that season in the capital of Czechia as part of the NHL Premiere Series; the win came two days after New York’s season-opening 2-1 win.The Rangers are 2-1-2 in their past five home openers and 3-1-2 in their previous seven.The Blueshirts won six of their past eight regular-season games against Tampa Bay, although the Lightning won 4-1 on Nov. 29, 2025, in their only visit last season. The Rangers won both their visits to Tampa in 2025-26, including a season-ending 4-2 victory on April 17. New York is 32-21-5 with two ties against Tampa Bay at MSG and 59-45-9 with five ties overall.Related Headlines