List of international games played by NHL teams

Throughout the history of the National Hockey League (NHL), there has been a long-standing tradition of international games played by NHL teams. The following is a list of games played by NHL teams against other NHL teams and non-NHL teams outside the United States and Canada, as well games played by NHL teams in the United States and Canada against non-North American teams.

The first NHL international games were held as part of the 1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour, where the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens played a nine-game series in various cities in Britain and France from April 21 to May 14. That first game played on April 21, 1938 was the first one organized by any major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, to take place outside North America. Since then, the league has staged games throughout Europe and in Japan, China, and Australia. While most NHL international games have been exhibition or preseason contests, the first ones to count towards the league's regular seasons standings were held in October 3–4, 1997, when the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Vancouver Canucks played a two-game series in Japan to open the 1997–98 regular season.

In the tables below: Bolded team names denote winners. Indicates regular season games.

Europe

1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour

In 1938, for the first time in NHL history two of the league's teams, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens, went on a tour of Europe with a nine-game series in Britain and France. The Canadiens won the series with a record of 5–3–1.

Date City Arena Team Team Score April 21 London, United Kingdom Empress Hall, Earl's Court Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 5–4 (OT) April 23 Brighton, United Kingdom Sports Stadium Brighton Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 5–5 April 25 Paris, France Palais des Sports Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 10–8 April 27 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 4–3 April 29 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 7–5 May 5 London, United Kingdom Empress Hall, Earl's Court 6–3 May 7 Brighton, United Kingdom Sports Stadium Brighton Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 10–5 May 10 London, United Kingdom Empress Hall, Earl's Court Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 5–4 May 14 Brighton, United Kingdom Sports Stadium Brighton Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 5–2

1959 Boston Bruins–New York Rangers European tour In 1959, the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers (aided by Bobby Hull, Ed Litzenberger, Eric Nesterenko, and Pierre Pilote of the Chicago Black HawksHockey Teams Fly to Europe for Games", The Milwaukee Journal, April 27, 1959, page 2) went on a 23-game tour of Europe, visiting England, Switzerland, France, Belgium, West Germany, and Austria. The Rangers won the series with a record of 11–9–3.

The first game in Geneva was attended by a sell-out crowd of 11,000, the attendance for the Zurich games was 4,500 and 2,000. In Berlin, only 600 people went to see the first game.

Date City Arena Team Team Score Attendance April 29 London, United Kingdom Empire Pool, Wembley Boston Bruins New York Rangers 7–5 April 30 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 4–2 5,000 May 2 Geneva, Switzerland Patinoire des Vernets 4–3 11,000 May 3 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 12–4 May 4 Boulogne-Billancourt, France Patinoire de Boulogne-Billancourt Boston Bruins New York Rangers 6–2 May 5 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 6–4 May 6 Antwerp, Belgium SportpaleisPoster for the event: "Sportpaleis – Antwerpen. 6 mei, 7 mei, 8 mei 1959". 6–3 May 7 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 6–3 May 8 8–4 May 9 Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadion 7–6 4,500 May 10 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 4–2 2,000 May 12 Dortmund, West Germany Westfalenhallen Boston Bruins New York Rangers 4–2 May 13 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 6–4 May 14 Essen, West Germany Grugahalle 6–4 May 15 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 4–3 May 16 Krefeld, West Germany Rheinlandhalle 8–0 May 17 7–2 May 19 West Berlin, West Germany Sportpalast Boston Bruins New York Rangers 6–6 600 May 20 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 3–2 May 21 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 8–2 May 22 Vienna, Austria Wiener Stadthalle Boston Bruins New York Rangers 2–2 May 23 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 5–3 May 24 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 4–4

1975–76 Super Series

In late 1975 and early 1976, two Soviet League teams from Moscow, Soviet Union (CSKA, also known as "Red Army", and Krylya Sovetov, also known as "Soviet Wings") played an eight-game series against several NHL teams (the Chicago Black Hawks, the Boston Bruins, the Buffalo Sabres, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins). The games took place in the United States and Canada. The Soviet teams won the series with a record of 5–2–1. Individually, CSKA had a record of 2–1–1 and Krylya Sovetov had a record of 3–1–0.

Date City Arena Team Team Score Attendance December 28, 1975 New York, United States Madison Square Garden CSKA Moscow New York Rangers 7–3 17,500 December 29, 1975 Pittsburgh, United States Civic Arena Krylya Sovetov Moscow Pittsburgh Penguins 7–4 13,218 December 31, 1975 Montreal, Canada Montreal Forum CSKA Moscow Montreal Canadiens 3–3 18,975 January 4, 1976 Buffalo, United States Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Krylya Sovetov Moscow Buffalo Sabres 6–12 16,433 January 7, 1976 Chicago, United States Chicago Stadium Krylya Sovetov Moscow Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 18,500 January 8, 1976 Boston, United States Boston Garden CSKA Moscow Boston Bruins 5–2 15,003 January 10, 1976 Uniondale, United States Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Krylya Sovetov Moscow New York Islanders 2–1 14,865 January 11, 1976 Philadelphia, United States Spectrum CSKA Moscow Philadelphia Flyers 1–4 17,077

1977–78 Czechoslovak NHL tour and Super Series

In late 1977 and early 1978, two Czechoslovak teams (TJ Poldi SONP Kladno and Tesla Pardubice) along with one Soviet team (Spartak Moscow) went on a 13-game tour of the NHL, playing against several NHL teams (the Atlanta Flames, the Chicago Black Hawks, the Cleveland Barons, the Colorado Rockies, the Detroit Red Wings, the Minnesota North Stars, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the St. Louis Blues, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Vancouver Canucks). Games took place in the United States and Canada. Both sides finished the series with 6–6–1 records. Individually, Kladno had a record of 2–1–1, Pardubice had a record of 1–3–0 (combined Czech record of 3–4–1), and Spartak had a record of 3–2–0.

Date City Arena Team Team Score Attendance December 26, 1977 New York, United States Madison Square Garden Poldi Kladno New York Rangers 4–4 10,123Philadelphia, United States Spectrum Tesla Pardubice Philadelphia Flyers 1–6 December 28, 1977 Vancouver, Canada Pacific Coliseum Spartak Moscow Vancouver Canucks 0–2 Bloomington, United States Metropolitan Sports Center Tesla Pardubice Minnesota North Stars 4–2 December 31, 1977 Chicago, United States Chicago Stadium Poldi Kladno Chicago Black Hawks 6–4 January 2, 1978 Toronto, Canada Maple Leaf Gardens Poldi Kladno Toronto Maple Leafs 8–5 Detroit, United States Detroit Olympia Tesla Pardubice Detroit Red Wings 4–5 January 3, 1978 Denver, United States McNichols Sports Arena Spartak Moscow Colorado Rockies 8–3 January 4, 1978 Richfield, United States Richfield Coliseum Poldi Kladno Cleveland Barons 3–4 Uniondale, United States Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Tesla Pardubice New York Islanders 3–8 9,437 January 5, 1978 St. Louis, United States Checkerdome Spartak Moscow St. Louis Blues 2–1 January 6, 1978 Montreal, Canada Montreal Forum Spartak Moscow Montreal Canadiens 2–5 January 8, 1978 Atlanta, United States Omni Coliseum Spartak Moscow Atlanta Flames 2–1

1978–79 Super Series

In late 1978 and early 1979, Soviet Union's Krylya Sovetov from Moscow played a four-game series against NHL teams (the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings, the Minnesota North Stars, and the Philadelphia Flyers). Games took place in the United States. Krylya Sovetov won the series with a 2–1–1 record.

Date City Arenas Team Team Score December 31, 1978 Bloomington, United States Metropolitan Sports Center Krylya Sovetov Minnesota North Stars 8–5 January 2, 1979 Philadelphia, United States Spectrum Krylya Sovetov Philadelphia Flyers 4–4 January 4, 1979 Detroit, United States Detroit Olympia Detroit Red Wings 5–6 January 9, 1979 Boston, United States Boston Garden Krylya Sovetov Boston Bruins 4–1

1979 Challenge Cup

The 1979 Challenge Cup was a series of international ice hockey games between the Soviet Union national ice hockey team and a team of All-Stars from the National Hockey League. The games were played on February 8, 10, and 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season. The Soviets defeated the NHL All-Stars 2 games to 1.

Date City Arena Team Team Score Attendance February 8, 1979 New York, United States Madison Square Garden NHL All-Stars Soviet Union 4–2 17,438 February 10, 1979 Soviet Union NHL All-Stars 5–4 17,438 February 11, 1979 6–0 17,545

1979–80 Super Series

In late 1979 and early 1980, two Soviet teams from Moscow, CSKA and Dynamo, played a nine-game series against several NHL teams (the Buffalo Sabres, the Edmonton Oilers, the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, the Quebec Nordiques, the Vancouver Canucks, the Washington Capitals, and the original Winnipeg Jets). Games took place in the United States and Canada. The Moscow teams won the series with a record of 5–3–1. Individually, CSKA had a record of 3–2–0, and Dynamo had a record of 2–1–1.

Date City Arena Team Team Score Attendance December 26, 1979 Vancouver, Canada Pacific Coliseum Dynamo Moscow Vancouver Canucks 2–6 December 27, 1979 New York, United States Madison Square Garden CSKA Moscow New York Rangers 5–2 17,429 December 29, 1979 Uniondale, United States Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum New York Islanders 3–2 10,123 December 31, 1979 Montreal, Canada Montreal Forum CSKA Moscow Montreal Canadiens 2–4 17,000 January 2, 1980 Winnipeg, Canada Winnipeg Arena Dynamo Moscow Winnipeg Jets 7–0 January 3, 1980 Buffalo, United States Buffalo Memorial Auditorium CSKA Moscow Buffalo Sabres 1–6 January 4, 1980 Edmonton, Canada Northlands Coliseum Dynamo Moscow Edmonton Oilers 4–1 January 6, 1980 Quebec City, Canada Colisée de Québec CSKA Moscow Quebec Nordiques 6–4 January 8, 1980 Landover, United States Capital Centre Dynamo Moscow Washington Capitals 5–5

1980 DN-Cup In 1980, the Minnesota North Stars and the Washington Capitals participated in the DN-Cup, a round-robin tournament in Sweden sponsored by the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, with Swedish teams AIK and Djurgården from Stockholm. Six games were played in total, five involving the NHL teams (AIK beat Djurgården 1–0 on September 21, attendance: 2,668). Washington won the tournament with a 3–0–0 record, Minnesota finished second with 2–1–0, AIK finished third and Djurgården last.

Date City Arena Team Team Score Attendance September 22 Stockholm, Sweden Johanneshovs Isstadion Washington Capitals Minnesota North Stars 4–3 2OT 4,288 September 23 Minnesota North Stars Djurgården Stockholm 8–0 3,663 September 24 Washington Capitals AIK Stockholm 2–1 4,104 September 25 Minnesota North Stars AIK Stockholm 4–3 2,895 September 26 Washington Capitals Djurgården Stockholm 3–2 5,873

1981 DN-Cup In 1981, the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals participated in the round-robin DN-Cup in Sweden with Swedish teams Västra Frölunda, AIK, and Djurgården. The New York won the tournament with a 4–0–0 record, ahead of AIK, Västra Frölunda, Washington (1–3–0) and Djurgården. The list of DN-Cup games excludes three games played without NHL participation.