How Many NHL Regular Season Games Are There?
How many NHL regular season games are there? This is a question that is often asked by fans of the sport. The answer may surprise you.
82
There are 82 regular season games in the NHL. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a single-elimination tournament comprising 16 teams, 8 from each conference.
From October to April
From October to April, each NHL team plays 82 games. That includes games against teams in their own division (intradivisional rivals), as well as games against teams in the other two divisions in their conference (interdivisional play). There are also a limited number of games played against teams in the other conference (cross-conference matchups).
Each team plays every other team at least twice
During a typical NHL season, each team plays every other team at least twice. The number of games played can vary from season to season. In the 2019-2020 NHL season, each team played 82 games.
Home and Away games
Each team plays 82 games during the NHL regular season. 41 of those games are played at home in their own arena, and 41 are played away in other team’s arenas.
