Rangers To Open 2025–26 Season on ESPN Opening Night Against Penguins

With the NHL Draft in the rearview mirror, and as the frenzy of NHL free agency has slowed down, the NHL has announce opening night for the 2025-26 NHL season will be on October 7. The trio of opening night games will see the New York Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins to kid off the season.

The reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will open the night up against the Chicago Blackhawks at 5 p.m. ET. The Rangers and Penguins are slotted to play the middle of the three games at 8 p.m. ET. To close out the night, the Colorado Avalanche will take on the Los Angeles Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The opening night contest will pit new head coach Mike Sullivan against his former team in his first game behind the Blueshirts' bench. Sullivan had a record of 409-255-89 with the Penguins and led them to back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. In addition to Sullivan, the Rangers anticipate the debut of offseason acquisitions Vladislav Gavrikov and Taylor Raddysh.

A hot start is important to a successful season but does not guarantee anything. Following the Rangers' solid start to the 2024-25 season, it appeared certain that they would make the playoffs and likely make a run at the Cup. But, as we all know, the team collapsed, quit, and missed out on the playoffs.

Even though opening night is still months away, it gives fans something to look forward to. With the changes behind the bench and a few tweaks to the roster, it will be intriguing to see if this Rangers team has taken a step forward or is more of what we saw last year.

All of our questions will have to wait until October 7, when the Rangers take on the Penguins.