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NHL adjusts start times of three Leafs games to avoid World Series conflicts with Blue Jays

Tyler Kuehl
Oct 22, 2025, 09:58 EDTUpdated: Oct 22, 2025, 11:11 EDT
NHL adjusts start times of three Leafs games to avoid World Series conflicts with Blue Jays

A couple of puck drops have been adjusted for a significant time in the Six.

On Wednesday, the NHL announced that three of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ games have new start times to properly accommodate the World Series schedule, which pits the Toronto Blue Jays against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On Oct. 24, the same day as Game 1 of the Fall Classic, the Leafs are set to visit the Buffalo Sabres. That game is being moved up from 7:30 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET. The next night, when the two teams face off in Toronto, the game will start at 5 p.m. ET, rather than the traditional 7 p.m. ET puck drop for Hockey Night in Canada.

Also, when the Leafs host the Calgary Flames, which would be during Game 4 of the World Series, the two teams will begin at 6 p.m. ET instead of 6:15 p.m. ET.

First pitch for each of the seven scheduled games for the World Series is set to take place a little after 8 p.m. ET.

To the average fan, this might not seem like a massive move. However, given the fact that this is the first time the Blue Jays have been in the World Series since they won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, the NHL and Maple Leafs deem that it’s worth giving all fans the chance to see both of their teams in action (or at least avoid losing fans who’d rather see the Jays play, instead of the Leafs). Also, when both the Leafs and Jays play on the same day, the already jam-packed downtown area becomes even more of a cluster.

This isn’t the first time the Leafs have had a game time adjusted to make way for the Blue Jays during their postseason run. On Oct. 13, when the Jays were up against the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, the matchup between the Leafs and Detroit Red Wings was moved from 4 p.m. ET to 2 p.m. ET. Like the adjustment for this coming Saturday, the move was made specifically to avoid an even more chaotic downtown scene, as both teams were at home that day.

It didn’t help either of the Toronto teams on that occasion, as the Leafs lost to Detroit for the second game in a row, while the Blue Jays lost 10-3 at Rogers Centre.

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