The NHL has finally announced the start times for Game 1 of the eight first-round series. The Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators will open up the postseason with a 3 p.m. showdown Saturday at Lenovo Center and streamed on both FanDuel Sports Network and ESPN. Parking lots and team store will open at noon that day and there will also be a pregame plaza party beginning at 12:30 p.m. The arena will open its doors at 1:30 p.m., with warmups set to take place at 2:30 p.m. The Dallas Stars/Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins/Philadelphia Flyers will follow up that game on Saturday, with puck drops scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Montreal Canadiens/Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins/Buffalo Sabres, Utah Mammoth/Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche series will all then kick off on Sunday at still to be determined times. Finally, the Pacific #2/#3 series (which has yet to be decided) will start on Monday. No other game information has been released yet, but the NHL will apparently announce the full first-round schedule after the regular season officially concludes tonight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECENT ARTICLES Why This Year Could Be Different For Carolina [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/why-this-year-could-be-different-for-carolina] Biggest Areas Of Concern For Carolina Hurricanes Heading Into Playoffs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/biggest-areas-of-concern-for-carolina-hurricanes-heading-into-playoffs] Carolina Hurricanes To Face Ottawa Senators In First Round Of 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/latest-news/carolina-hurricanes-to-face-ottawa-senators-in-first-round-of-2026-stanley-cup-playoffs] Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/2fc97c03-6cff-45e8-ae59-23b0632dfa24.jpeg] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwmeDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to never miss a story. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
