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The red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning try their luck Friday night in Chicago with a road matchup against the Blackhawks. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) with TV coverage on ESPN and streaming on-demand.
How to watch Lightning vs. Blackhawks on TV and stream without cable:
Lightning vs. Blackhawks: The matchup
The Lightning own the best record in the Eastern Conference at 31-13-4 on the strength of a stretch where they are 13-0-1 over their past 14 games. Tampa Bay heads to Chicago off back-to-back 4-1 victories over the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars and with the NHL’s best road record at 18-4-4. The Lightning are listed as sound betting favorites (-265) to handle the Blackhawks in Chicago.
Chicago will hope to repeat a big effort on the road Thursday night in Carolina with a 4-3 shootout victory over another one of the East’s top contenders. Oliver Morris scored the decisive goal for the Blackhawks in the shootout period and logged an assist in regulation, helping his team win its second straight and improve to 21-22-7 on the season.
Lightning vs. Blackhawks: Know your live streams
FuboTV (free trial) – FuboTV scores high marks for viewer experience with a huge library of live sports; the monthly rate after trial starts at $54.99 with a $30 off promotion. ESPN Unlimited included free in the base plan. NFL Red Zone available on SportsPlus ($74.99 first month with promotion).
DirecTV (free trial) – First month after the 5-day free trial starts as low as $49.99 with current $35 off promotion. ESPN Unlimited and NFL Red Zone included with add-on packages and sports plans. Genre Packs and other lower-priced alternatives are available, some of which come with free gift cards.
SlingTV (low intro rate) – Full month of streaming runs as low as $45.99 with day passes available for 24 hours ($4.99), three-day ($9.99) and seven-day access ($14.99). The service’s most noteworthy omission is CBS, which carries college basketball and football, NBA and NFL games.
ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/mo.) – ESPN has a new, standalone package that includes ABC broadcasts, all of ESPN’s sports channels, and access to ESPN+. For a limited time, ESPN can be bundled with Disney Plus and Hulu for $29.99 per month. This package is included free in select FuboTV and DirecTV plans, along with other TV providers.
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