NHL
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Hockey is back!
The NHL drops the puck for the 2025-26 season on Tuesday with a tripleheader on ESPN, followed by a doubleheader on TNT on Wednesday. If you’re wondering how to catch all of the action through the Stanley Cup Final in June, the viewing options are more plentiful – and complicated – than ever.
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National and local broadcasts will be scattered across over-the-air antennas, cable packages and a variety of streaming services. Whether you live in the U.S. or Canada, and whether you want to watch a local team or an out-of-market team, we have you covered.
To keep up with The Athletic’s NHL coverage, don’t forget to follow the league and your team(s) of choice by managing your feed, and subscribe to The Athletic Hockey Show podcast on your preferred platform.
You can watch in-market and nationally televised NHL games on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
Of the 1,312 regular-season games in the NHL schedule, 172 will be broadcast nationally in the U.S., across ABC, ESPN, ESPN+/ESPN Unlimited, Hulu and TNT Sports. This will be the fifth year of the league’s seven-year rights deal with the ESPN family of networks and TNT Sports, so you’ll find the vast majority of nationally televised games on those platforms, in addition to NHL Network.
ESPN will broadcast mostly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while TNT handles mostly Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and ABC airs games on Saturday.
The NHL is also bringing back its “Frozen Frenzy” on Oct. 28, with all 32 teams in action on a single night, with start times staggered by 15 minutes to create more than seven hours of non-stop hockey. Several games will be aired on ESPN, with the remaining contests streamed on the ESPN app. There will also be a whip-around show with live look-ins on every game airing on ESPN2.
ABC is the home for nationally broadcast NHL games on Saturdays. The station will televise 16 NHL games on 13 different Saturdays during the 2025-26 season, most of which will be afternoon doubleheaders.
What you need to watch these games: A broadcast antenna will suffice, though ABC is also available on any cable provider or streaming service. These games also are available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
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ESPN will broadcast 36 regular games this season on select Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends. As part of the annual rotation, ESPN and ABC will also broadcast the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, along with games from the first three rounds of playoff action. The station’s studio show — The Point with hosts John Buccigross, Steve Levy and Arda Ocal — will air weekly this fall on ESPN2 and ESPN+/ESPN Unlimited.
What you need to watch these games: Most cable providers and streaming services have this channel. ESPN Unlimited subscribers also will have access to these games. Subscribers to ESPN+/ESPN Select will not be able to view these games unless they log in through a separate cable/streaming subscription.
The home of Tuesday and Wednesday night hockey. TNT’s studio crew of Liam McHugh, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter and Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be back for 2025-26. The station will broadcast the NHL on 12 Tuesday nights and 20 Wednesday nights throughout the season, most of which are doubleheaders, and will also have several Sunday doubleheaders.
The station will also air games in the first and second rounds of the playoffs, as well as the conference finals. All NHL games, as well as pre- and postgame coverage, will be simulcast on truTV and available to stream on Max’s B/R Sports Add-On.
What you need to watch these games: Most cable providers include TNT and truTV. Otherwise, all are available streaming on Max via the B/R Sports add-on.
The game schedule isn’t nearly as regular for the league’s network, but you will find a live game or two most weeks.
What you need to watch these games: Most cable providers include the channel as part of a premium package. You can stream it through Fubo, Sling and DirecTV Stream.
All 47 of the games exclusively broadcast on ESPN+ will also be shown live on Hulu.
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What you need to watch these games: A subscription to Hulu ($9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year) or ESPN+ ($11.99 per month or $119.99 per year).
More than 1,050 out-of-market games will be broadcast on NHL Power Play through the ESPN App throughout the season. The 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. Replays of most games are available the next day on the streaming service, including games that air on TNT.
What you need to watch these games: An ESPN+ subscription ($11.99 per month or $119.99 per year).
Sportsnet+ Premium will broadcast over 1,000 out-of-market NHL games, including Hockey Night in Canada.
What you need to watch these games: A Sportsnet+ Premium subscription ($42.99 per month or $324.99 annually).
This is where things get a bit more complicated. If you’re located inside the regional area for the local team, you won’t be able to watch the games live on ESPN+ as they will be blacked out. Instead, you’ll have to buy the cable package that includes your market’s regional sports network, or in some cases, simply find the over-the-air broadcast that can be watched for free.
Here are the options for each team:
Anaheim Ducks: Watch locally on KCOP-13 (54 games) and KTTV FOX 11 (10 games), which are both free with a broadcast antenna. All 82 games will be streamed on Victory+ (free).
Boston Bruins: Watch locally on NESN (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on NESN 360 ($29.99 per month or $239.99 per year).
Buffalo Sabres: Watch locally on MSG (available on cable and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($41.99 per month or $359.99 per year).
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Calgary Flames: Watch locally on Sportsnet West, Sportsnet One and Sportsnet West (available on cable).
Carolina Hurricanes: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network South (available on cable and satellite) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month or $189.99 per year).
Chicago Blackhawks: Watch locally on Chicago Sports Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on CHSN app ($19.99 per month).
Colorado Avalanche: Watch 20 select games locally on 9NEWS (Channel 9) and KTVD (Channel 20), which are free with a broadcast antenna. The remaining games will air on Altitude (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) and stream on Altitude+ ($19.95 per month).
Columbus Blue Jackets: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (available on cable and satellite) or stream games on FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month or $189.99 per year).
Dallas Stars: Stream games on Victory+ for free.
Detroit Red Wings: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network (available on cable and satellite) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month or $189.99 per year).
Edmonton Oilers: Watch locally on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet One (available on cable) or on Sportsnet+ ($29.99 per month or $249.99 per year).
Florida Panthers: Watch locally on Scripps Sports (available on cable and satellite) or stream on Panthers+ ($69.99 per season).
Los Angeles Kings: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network West (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month). Select games will simulcast on KCAL-TV (free with a broadcast antenna).
Minnesota Wild: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network North (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month or $189.99 per year).
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Montreal Canadiens: Watch locally on TSN (English) and RDS (French), both of which are available on cable.
Nashville Predators: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network South (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month).
New Jersey Devils: Watch locally on MSG Sports Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($41.99 per month or $359.99 per year).
New York Islanders: Watch locally on MSG Sports Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($41.99 per month or $359.99 per year).
New York Rangers: Watch locally on MSG Sports Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($41.99 per month or $359.99 per year).
Ottawa Senators: Watch locally on TSN5 or RDS (available on cable), or stream on TSN+ ($8 per month or $80 per year).
Philadelphia Flyers: Watch locally on NBC Sports Philadelphia (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) and stream games on the NBC Sports app (requires cable subscription).
Pittsburgh Penguins: Watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream on SNP 360 ($21.99 per month or $99.99 for a season pass).
San Jose Sharks: Watch locally on NBC Sports California (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) and stream games on NBC Sports app (requires cable subscription).
Seattle Kraken: Watch locally on KONG or KING 5 (both free with a broadcast antenna) or stream on Prime Video if you live in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana or Alaska ($14.99 per month or $139 per year).
St. Louis Blues: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month or $189.99 per year).
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Tampa Bay Lightning: Watch locally on The Spot – Tampa Bay 66 (free with a broadcast antenna or available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on the Lightning app ($66 per season).
Toronto Maple Leafs: Watch locally on Sportsnet and TSN (available on cable) with select Monday games streaming on Amazon Video ($14.99 per month or $139 per year).
Utah Mammoth: Watch locally on Utah 16 (free with a broadcast antenna) or stream games on Mammoth+ ($69.99 per season).
Vancouver Canucks: Watch locally on SportsNet Pacific (available on cable) or streaming on Sportsnet+ ($29.99 per month or $249.99 per year). Select Monday games will be streaming on Amazon Video ($14.99 per month or $139 per year).
Vegas Golden Knights: Watch locally on Vegas 34 (free with a broadcast antenna) or stream games on KnightTime+ ($69.99 per season).
Washington Capitals: Watch locally on Monumental Sports Network (available on cable and satellite) or stream on Monumental+ ($19.99 per month or 179.99 per year).
Winnipeg Jets: Watch locally on TSN3 (available on cable) or stream on the TSN app (cable subscription required) with select Monday games streaming on Amazon Video ($14.99 per month or $139 per year).
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
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Jesse Granger is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in Las Vegas covering the Golden Knights and goaltending across the league. He has covered the Golden Knights since its inception and was previously an award-winning reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Follow Jesse on Twitter @JesseGranger_
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