How the hell do I watch the NHL game on TV tonight?

Also a fans guide to where and what you'll need to subscribe to for NHL viewing in the United States this season

Photo by aj_aaaab on Unsplash

One thing I’ve learned over the past year is that people want a simple place to keep track of where and when the hockey game will be televised or streamed.

So this post is going to become a living, breathing space where the daily schedule will be tracked for your convenience.

Where to find Oct. 25 NHL games:

Arizona Coyotes at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 pm ET — Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Arizona. Streaming in both markets on Bally Sports+. Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins, 7 pm ET — Bally Sports Southwest, NESN. Streaming in Dallas on Bally Sports+, streaming in Boston on NESN+. Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Minnesota Wild at Montreal Canadiens, 7 pm ET - Bally Sports North. Streaming in Minnesota on Bally Sports+. Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

New Jersey Devils at Detroit Red Wings, 7 pm ET — Bally Sports Detroit, MSG Sportsnetwork. Streaming in Detroit on Bally Sports+. Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Colorado Avalanche at New York Rangers, 8 pm ET — ESPN. Also simulcast streaming on ESPN+.

Florida Panthers at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 pm ET — Bally Sports Florida, NBC Sports Chicago. Streaming in Florida on Bally Sports+. Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Calgary Flames, 9 pm ET — ATT-SN (Pittsburgh). Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Buffalo Sabres at Seattle Kraken, 10 pm ET — Root-NW (Seattle), MSG-B (Buffalo). Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Los Angeles Kings, 10:30 pm ET — Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports West. Streaming locally in both markets on Bally Sports+. Streaming in the rest of the United States on ESPN+.

Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 pm ET — ESPN.

Also as an important refresher, here is the overview of how to find NHL games on television and streaming this season.

National Games

ESPN and Turner are entering the sophomore season of their seven-year deal with the NHL as the national broadcast carriers in the United States.

While ESPN carries the A package, Turner gets top-billing this season since it’ll carry the Stanley Cup Final. Games on TNT, and later TBS in the postseason, are going to require a paid television/cable subscription. You can stream games on the TNT and TBS apps, but it still requires a pay-TV login.

ESPN is still leaning heavily into the streaming part of its deal with the NHL but will be airing more linear games, including more doubleheaders on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. There is still a healthy dosage of ESPN+/Hulu exclusives, which will be streaming only, but ESPN is pushing more into the traditional TV space.

A big reason for this is how successful the NHL out-of-market package was for both the league and ESPN+. Both the league and network were surprised with how much the out-of-market package drove subscriptions when originally it was thought ESPN+/Hulu exclusive national games would be more important in that effort.

Some of the games that are on ESPN or ABC will be simulcast on ESPN+, but many will still require a pay-tv login to stream them within the ESPN app. Essentially if you want every national game, you’ll need a pay-TV package with Turner and ESPN and subscribe to ESPN+ or Hulu.

What about the out-of-market package? Still blackouts?

The out-of-market package is still the same with ESPN+, and yes blackouts will still apply.

They suck, yes, they are in place to protect an NHL team’s regional rights partner (RSNs) and the investment that typically averages around $25 million per season.

Ok, how do I make sure I watch my own team in-market?

If you are keeping everything kosher (non-pirated viewing), there are two ways to do it.

You either need a pay-TV package that carries the RSN which holds your team’s rights or in some cases, you can now subscribe to a direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service.

NESN, which holds the Boston Bruins rights, was the first RSN to launch a DTC streaming service. The Sinclair-owned Bally Sports networks launched one last week that covers a dozen NHL teams.

Even with the potential sale/transaction of Bally Sports, possibly to the NHL, Bally Sports+ is up and running and available.

It’s important to note these streaming services are for in-market games only. So if you are a St. Louis Blues fan living in say, Miami, you would be covered already by ESPN+.

Alright, what about NHL Network?

NHL Network will carry select games that are considered national outside of the markets the two teams are playing in. So if a game between the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild is being carried by NHL Network, it would still be on air on the RSNs in those markets, but the only way to watch it outside of Minnesota and California would be on NHL Network.

NHL Network does not have a direct-to-consumer streaming option. So to get that game you’d have to have a pay-TV package with NHL Network.