 During the All @-@ Star break , the league announced that the Penguins would open the 2008 – 09 season with games on October 4 and 5 against the Ottawa Senators at the Globe Arena in Stockholm , Sweden . Also , the New York Rangers would open against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Prague , Czech Republic . Later , on March 12 , the league and the NHL Players Association announced that the Penguins would play an exhibition game against Jokerit of the SM @-@ liiga , the top professional league in Finland , on October 2 , at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki . 
