Flyers will start 2026-27 season at home against Penguins, play at Devils in opening week back-to-back

Didn’t the Flyers’ season just end?

It feels like it — the team played into May by making the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Although they got swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, the Flyers will get a chance to start their 2026-27 season by picking up where they left off in the win column, with a rematch on Sept. 30 against their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m., TNT).

This season, the NHL schedule is 84 games, with two extra Metropolitan Division games added. The full schedule will be announced at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

The last time the Flyers and Penguins met, defenseman Cam York threw his stick into the crowd after firing home the 1-0 overtime winner in Game 6 of the first round, sending the Penguins golfing.

Heading into the lid lifter, both teams will have different looks, notably with Noel Acciari switching sides from the Penguins to the Flyers. The forward leads a retooled fourth line after inking a two-year deal with an average annual value of $2.8 million. He is excited to be in orange and black now.

“Just being a part of that Pennsylvania rivalry, I got to experience it on the other side, which was a lot of fun,” he said on July 7. “And just seeing how passionate the fans are, which is unbelievable, and to be able to experience it with their cheering for you this time, I’m so excited for [it]. And I’m glad to have them on my side now because they are very passionate, and they’re all up in your face.

“It’s fun to play against, but at the same time, I’m happy I get to play on the same side.”

This year will mark the eighth time the Flyers start the season at home against the Penguins (5-2-0); the overall record in home openers is 33-18-5-2. It is also the ninth time they are opening the season against Pittsburgh (4-3-1-0) with an overall record of 29-20-7-2 when kickstarting a season. The Flyers have faced the Penguins more than any other opponent in season openers and home openers.

The following night, the Flyers will head up the turnpike to the Prudential Center for the New Jersey Devils’ home opener. The Flyers will also be in Ottawa for the Senators’ — and former Flyers goalie Sam Ersson’s — home opener on Oct. 8.

This year’s NHL schedule also features the 2026 Heritage Classic on Oct. 25, with the Winnipeg Jets hosting the Montreal Canadiens; Carolina taking on the Seattle Kraken in Finland on Nov. 12-14; and Ottawa and the Chicago Blackhawks in Germany on Dec. 18-20.

On New Year’s Eve, the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche will participate in the 2026 Winter Classic at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium.

And from Feb. 5-6, the New York Islanders’ home of UBS Arena will host All-Star Weekend. On Feb. 5, 10 young stars, ages 25 or younger, will compete across eight events, and the following day will be the All-Star Game — with a twist. Five teams of 11 players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, the United States and a “World” team will compete in a three-on-three, round-robin exhibition tournament.

Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League’s home opener is Oct. 3 against the Hartford Wolf Pack. ... Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, who each filed for salary arbitration on July 5, have their hearings scheduled for next week, according to Puckpedia. Drysdale is scheduled for July 20 and Zegras for July 22. Arbitration can be avoided with a contract between now and the morning of the hearing. ... Former Flyers forward Rodrigo Ābols signed a three-year deal with SC Bern of the National League, the top men’s league in Switzerland. The Latvian made his NHL debut with the Flyers at the age of 29 on Jan. 21, 2025. Across 64 regular-season games with Philly, he had five goals, 15 points, and won 53.8% of his faceoffs while averaging a little over 10 minutes a game. He suffered a season-ending injury in January that forced him to also miss representing his country at the 2026 Winter Olympics. ... Former Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov returned to the Kontinental Hockey League, signing a two-year deal with Spartak Moscow.