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Panthers unveil 2022 preseason schedule. The home opener is less than three months away.

The Florida Panthers’ return to action in Sunrise is less than three months away.

The Panthers will kick off the preseason in September, the team announced Thursday, and two of their six preseason games in September and October will be in South Florida.

They’ll also play five road games, including doubleheader against the Nashville Predators to open the preseason.

After those two games in Tennessee, the Panthers will return to Florida to host the Carolina Hurricanes in their home opener. It will be new coach Paul Maurice’s debut behind the bench at FLA Live Arena — or whatever the venue is renamed after the expiration of BB&T’s naming-rights deal.

The Panthers will then play a road game against the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina, in October and finish the preseason with another home-and-home against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning.

Last year, Florida’s preseason schedule including a game against the Lightning in Orlando. This year, all six games will take place at the home team’s usual arena.

The regular season will begin later in October. The NHL will unveil its full regular-season schedule later in July.

It will be a busy month for the NHL: The 2022 NHL Entry Draft is next Thursday and Friday in Montreal, and free agency begins the following week. Although they don’t have any picks in the first two rounds of the NHL Entry Drafty, the Panthers expect to be active in the trade market as they try to clear out some cap space to supplement their core and make another run at the Stanley Cup in the 2022-23 NHL season.

Here’s the full preseason schedule for Florida:

  • Sept. 26: vs. Predators, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

  • Sept. 29: vs. Hurricanes, 7 p.m.

  • Oct. 1: at Hurricanes, 1 p.m.

  • Oct. 6: vs. Lightning, 7 p.m.

  • Oct. 8: at Lightning, 4 p.m.