Disney has announced details on ESPN’s coverage of the upcoming 2025/26 season of the National Hockey League (NHL), which will include 100 exclusive games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and Hulu – all available on the ESPN App via the new ESPN direct-to-consumer (DTC) or Pay TV authentication. ESPN content will also be available on Disney+ for bundled subscribers.
Additionally, ESPN and TWDC will present the NHL Opening Night tripleheader, NHL Frozen Frenzy, Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series, and will drop the puck on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning in mid-April before concluding the season with the NHL Stanley Cup Final in June.
The new season kicks off on Tuesday, 7th October 2025, with an opening night tripleheader Face-Off on ESPN, along with ESPN’s NHL studio show, The Point, which will premiere at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+, ahead of ESPN’s season-opening tripleheader and will be presented weekly this fall on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
The puck drops at 5 p.m. ET when the Chicago Blackhawks and Connor Bedard take on the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers. Prior to the game, Florida will raise its championship banner at Amerant Bank Arena, commemorating the club’s 2024-25 Stanley Cup-winning season.
Continuing on ESPN at 8 p.m., Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against longtime former coach Mike Sullivan, now behind the bench for the New York Rangers, and star goalie Igor Shesterkin in a Metropolitan Division matchup at Madison Square Garden.
Following at 10:30 p.m., the Colorado Avalanche face the Los Angeles Kings and new teammates Corey Perry and Anton Forsberg in a Western Conference matchup at Crypto.com Arena.
This season’s NHL Frozen Frenzy, a special night of hockey featuring all 32 teams in action, returns on Oct. 28. Led by ESPN’s exclusive tripleheader – beginning at 6 p.m. ET – featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals at Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks (ESPN).
The additional 13 games will be available on NHL Power Play on the ESPN App – with 15-minute staggered start times – resulting in continuous action throughout the night. With every team in action, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will again provide a whip-around show with live look-ins on every game, showcasing the best plays, hits and goals of the night.
The 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series returns February 1 at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla. This season’s outdoor matchup will feature the hometown Tampa Bay Lightning facing off against the Boston Bruins, on ESPN (time TBD).
In addition to 47 exclusive games on ESPN+/Hulu, more than 1,050 out-of-market games will be accessible through NHL Power Play on the ESPN App – available to all ESPN DTC subscribers – throughout the season. These will also be available on the ESPN hub on Disney+ for bundled subscribers.
NHL Power Play games include the choice of two separate live streams with either home team or away team commentary, as well as Canadian national presentations of Hockey Night in Canada, providing a local experience for fans no matter where they are in the U.S. Replays of every NHL regular season and playoff game on ABC, ESPN, NHL Network and TNT are also made available to stream on NHL Power Play on the ESPN App. To sign up or authenticate your eligible Pay TV subscription, visit stream.espn.com.
It’s also been confirmed that the Stanley Cup Final returns exclusively to The Walt Disney Company in June 2026.
The Walt Disney Company’s 2025-26 NHL Game Schedule:
Please note that the game schedule may be subject to change.
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