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 NHL began playing games around the globe, with 30 teams traveling to 15 countries across Europe and Asia since the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings first went to Europe for a postseason exhibition tour in 1938. The game played on 21 April 1938 was the first one organized by any Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, to take place outside North America. In the tables below bolded