Sports Betting
We’ve passed the midway point of the NHL season, which means the intensity on the ice will be ramping up as teams push for the playoffs. As the season progresses, hockey gets better and better. You won’t want to miss any of the action down the stretch — and especially into the Stanley Cup Playoffs — so here is an explainer on how to watch every hockey game.
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Doing so has become increasingly complicated with the scattering of broadcasts across over-the-air antennas, cable packages and 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.
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You can stream the NHL on Fubo (try it for free).
Of the 1,312 regular season games in the NHL schedule, more than 200 are nationally televised in the U.S. The 2024-25 season is the fourth of the league’s seven-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals with the ESPN family of networks and TNT Sports, so the majority of the nationally televised games will be found on those platforms. NHL Network also airs quite a few.
TNT typically handles Wednesday nights, with a few Sundays thrown in over the second half of the season, while ESPN broadcasts mostly on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
ABC is your home for nationally broadcast NHL games on Saturdays. The station will televise 19 NHL games on 12 different Saturdays during the 2024-25 season, most of which will be afternoon double-headers. ABC will also air several games from the league’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February.
What you need to watch these games: A broadcast antenna will suffice, though ABC is also available on any cable provider or streaming service.
ESPN will broadcast 100 regular games this season on select Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends. It will also be the home of the Stanley Cup Playoff games in rounds one and two, as well as one conference final. The station’s studio show — The Point with hosts John Buccigross, Steve Levy and Arda Ocal — occasionally appears on ESPN and mostly airs Tuesdays and Thursdays on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
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What you need to watch these games: Most cable providers and streaming services have this channel. You can also subscribe to ESPN+, Disney+ or Hulu via add-on.
The home of Wednesday night hockey. TNT has a lively desk of hosts and analysts, including Liam McHugh, Wayne Gretzky, Paul Bissonnette, Anson Carter and Henrik Lundqvist. The station will broadcast the NHL on 25 Wednesday nights throughout the season, most of which are double-headers, and will also have several Sunday double-headers throughout the second half of the season.
As part of the annual rotation, TNT will also broadcast the 2025 Stanley Cup Final, along with games from the first three rounds of playoff action. 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. The broadcast teams are generally some combination of E.J. Hradek, Kevin Weekes, Mike Johnson and Keith Irizarry.
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.
When the NHL signed its new television contract with ESPN in 2021, it moved all out-of-market games from NHL.TV to NHL Power Play on ESPN+ as part of the deal. More than 1,050 games will be available to out-of-market viewers on the streaming service this season. Replays of most games are available the next day on the streaming service, including games that air on TNT.
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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 ($34.99 per month or $249.99 per year).
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 (free with a broadcast antenna) or stream games on Victory+ (also free)
Boston Bruins: Watch locally on NESN (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on NESN 360 ($29.99 per month)
Buffalo Sabres: Watch locally on MSG (available on cable and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($29.99 per month)
Calgary Flames: Watch locally on Sportsnet West or SportsNet Flames (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)
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 select games locally on 9NEWS (free with a broadcast antenna) and the rest on Altitude (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream them on Altitude+ ($19.95 per month)
Columbus Blue Jackets: Watch locally on ABC 6 and CW Columbus (free with a broadcast antenna), FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (available on cable and satellite) or stream games on FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month)
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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)
Edmonton Oilers: Watch locally on Sportsnet (available on cable) or on Sportsnet+ (available on Prime Video as an add-on for $24.99 per month)
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)
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)
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 ($29.99 per month)
New York Islanders: Watch locally on MSG Sports Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($29.99 per month)
New York Rangers: Watch locally on MSG Network (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on Gotham Sports ($29.99 per month)
Ottawa Senators: Watch locally on TSN5 or RDS (available on cable)
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)
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Pittsburgh Penguins: Watch locally on SportsNet Pittsburgh (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream on SNP 360 ($17.99 per month)
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
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)
Tampa Bay Lightning: Watch locally on FanDuel Sports Network Sun (available on cable, satellite and FuboTV) or stream games on the FanDuel Sports Network app ($19.99 per month)
Toronto Maple Leafs: Watch locally on Sportsnet and TSN (available on cable) with select Monday games streaming on Amazon Video
Utah Hockey Club: Watch locally on Utah 16 (free with a broadcast antenna) or stream games on UtahHC+ ($69.99 per season)
Vancouver Canucks: Watch locally on SportsNet Pacific (available on cable) with select Monday games streaming on Amazon Video
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)
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
(Photo by Mathew Tsang / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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_
