Schedules are now set for NHL teams with the season beginning in October. The Dallas Stars have their travel-heavy 82-game schedule ready to go. Plenty of road trip stretches and home stands put lots of hockey miles on the team plane this season. There is a two-week break for the Winter Olympics with 11 season series ending before that. Plenty of the season series are spread far and wide, starting late and ending early. Playoffs rematches will set the tone early and continue throughout the season. Stars hockey begins October 9th with two important games starting them off.

Rematches Abound

There are 11 playoff rematches for the Stars next season. This new squad will receive an early test as the first two games are on the road in Winnipeg and Colorado. The Stars will start the first of many trips across the border on Thursday, October 9th, taking on the Jets as they seek their revenge against the Stars. Their first game in the United States is the following Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver for a rematch after a thrilling Game 7 between the Stars and Avalanche. Getting three chances at revenge begins with the two-time Stars-defeaters Edmonton Oilers. That series kicks off on November 4th, concluding on March 12th.

Winter Olympics

Many Stars players, except Russians, are heading to Milan, Italy to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympiad for two weeks in February. Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger are the expected Stars’ competitors for the United States team who are looking to bring home the first ice hockey gold medal since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. The Stars only have four games in the month of February, all at home. Finland will also have a healthy pick of Stars players. Non-Canadian Stars fans may pull for Finland if they don’t play the United States.

Road Trips

The longest road trip by far this season is six games for the Stars spanning coast-to-coast. They’ll start in Carolina on January 6, 2026, and end in Utah on the 15th. This 6-game road trip holds two back-to-backs with a flight from Washington>San Jose in between on a two-day break. Another stretch of flights precedes that road trip with a Dallas>Chicago>Dallas swing before heading out to Carolina for the next game. There are only three road trips of four games or longer this season. The final two games of the season are in Toronto and Buffalo. There are 60 total flights this season concluding with Buffalo>Dallas in hopes of the Stars beginning their playoff run.

Season Series

Concluding series between teams early and starting late will leave long periods before seeing a particular team again. The Stars will have to wait for vengeance against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars play the Golden Knights for the first time one year and one day after Miro Heiskanen’s injury in Vegas. That season series is the last one to begin for the Stars on January 29. St. Louis is the only divisional opponent the Stars won’t see at all after the Olympic break unless it’s in the playoffs. The Stars will play in Florida on November 1, exactly one year after the Global series game. That series will end in Dallas on December 13th. Both teams will see each other in their home arena for the first time since the Panthers won both of their Stanley Cups.

Schedule releases are exciting times in the era of offseason inactivity. The Stars are a well-traveled team with lots of flights approaching. These upcoming 82 games are crucial to the team’s success. Almost everyone expects the Stars to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs with hopes of finally getting past the Western Conference Final. They’ll want to end the stigma as the only team to drop three consecutive Conference Final Appearances with an even further run this year.

Photo Credit: Dallas Stars X

Tags: american airlines center dallas stars Jake Oettinger jamie benn Jason Robertson Mikko Rantanen Miro Heiskanen nhl

Categorized:Stars