The National Hockey League has scheduled a rare weekday afternoon game for November 12, 2026, as the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes, prepare to face the Seattle Kraken. The puck is set to drop just after noon Eastern Time at the Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, Finland. This contest is part of the NHL Global Series and will be broadcast on NHL Network. Although the Kraken are designated as the home team for this specific matchup, which grants them the final line change, Carolina will hold the home designation for Saturday's rematch.
These two contests represent the 49th and 50th regular-season games in NHL history to be played outside of North America. Carolina becomes the fourth reigning Stanley Cup winner to participate in an international game. Historically, Cup champions have a strong record in these settings, holding a 5-1-0 mark in the previous six such matchups. The most recent international games in Finland occurred in November 2024, when the then-defending champions, the Florida Panthers, swept two games against the Dallas Stars.
The Hurricanes enter this series with a strong record of 14 wins, 3 losses, and 2 overtime losses. They are currently the favorites to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. The team has been consistent, with only two losses by more than one goal. They arrive in Finland following back-to-back victories over the New York Islanders and the Chicago Blackhawks, outscoring opponents 14-5 in those games. Russian goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has been instrumental to this success, posting an 11-1-0 record with a 1.67 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage, along with two shutouts.
Despite their strong performance, Carolina faces a minor injury concern with forward William Carrier, who was removed from their last game for precautionary reasons due to a knee issue. Captain Jordan Staal, however, has traveled with the team and may play for the first time since suffering a torn calf muscle during warmups on October 11. Staal's return could provide a significant boost to the Hurricanes' lineup.
For the Seattle Kraken, this marks their first international game, making them the 27th franchise in league history to play one. The Kraken have alternated wins and losses over their past six games and recently fell 4-3 to the New York Rangers at home. In that loss, they nearly completed a franchise-record comeback from a four-goal deficit. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who has a 5-3-1 record and a 3.08 goals-against average this season, is expected to start for Seattle in Helsinki.
Both teams feature prominent Finnish players. Carolina's Sebastian Aho leads all Finnish players in the league with 26 points. He recently tied a record for the most three-point games by a Finnish player in NHL history. Seattle's Kaapo Kakko is second with 13 points. Aho and Kakko were teammates on Finland's bronze medal-winning team at the 2026 Olympics in Italy, where both scored in a 6-1 victory over Slovakia. Kakko was selected second overall in the 2019 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers.
The two clubs split a pair of one-goal games last season, with each team winning on its home ice. Historically, half of all NHL games played outside North America have been decided by a one-goal margin or ended in a tie. Betting models project a close game, with Carolina favored to win in regulation. The projected score is 3.5 to 3.2 in favor of the Hurricanes.
