The 2024-25 NHL regular season is here. I can’t wait to catch all the action on live TV through my streaming service, whether watching local matchups or games from across the continent.
In a hurry? Since the season has already started, you may want to skip the deep dive and just start watching. These are my top picks for local fans:
- Fubo: The best streaming service for international sports with almost all RSNs available. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
- DIRECTV STREAM: Slightly better RSN selection but a bit more money. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
- Hulu + Live TV: Few RSNs but it includes ESPN+, which offers all out-of-market games. Try the Hulu Live free 3-day trial.
Table Of Contents
The guide below will explain everything you need to know about how to watch the National Hockey League (NHL) online. Whether you’re looking for preseason, regular season, or championship games, you should be able to watch hockey online thanks to live streaming services like Fubo.
If you’ve cut the cord, there are several ways you can stream NHL without cable – check out my preferred options below.
Channels You Need to Watch NHL Games
NHL coverage is available on many different channels but things changed a lot starting in 2021. NBCUniversal used to air a lot of hockey games. But with the current restructuring of its sports division, they dropped their contract with the league.
Here are the national channels that air NHL games:
- ABC
- ESPN
- NHL Network
- TNT/TBS.
In addition to these live TV channels, ESPN+ acts as the NHL’s out-of-market service so you will have access to most NHL games that don’t involve your local team(s).
Regional Sports Networks
However, nationally broadcast games are only part of the picture. As with MLB and NBA, NHL games are primarily broadcast by regional sports networks (RSNs). In a particular area, the RSN will broadcast nearly all of the regular-season games of the local team.
DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo offer almost all of them including the FanDuel Sports channels. The Canada-based teams don’t provide local broadcasting in the US and can be viewed with ESPN+, which can be purchased alone or with Hulu + Live TV.
| Team | Channel | DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu |
| Anaheim Ducks | FanDuel Sports SoCal | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Arizona Coyotes | Scripps Sports | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Boston Bruins | NESN | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Buffalo Sabres | MSG | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Calgary Flames | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Carolina Hurricanes | FanDuel Sports South | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Chicago Sports Network | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Colorado Avalanche | Altitude Sports | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | FanDuel Sports Ohio | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Dallas Stars | FanDuel Sports Southwest | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Detroit Red Wings | FanDuel Sports Detroit | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Edmonton Oilers | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Florida Panthers | FanDuel Sports Florida | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Los Angeles Kings | FanDuel Sports West | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Minnesota Wild | FanDuel Sports North | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Montreal Canadiens | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Nashville Predators | FanDuel Sports South | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| New Jersey Devils | MSG | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| New York Islanders | MSG | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| New York Rangers | MSG | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Ottawa Senators | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Philadelphia Flyers | NBC Sports Philadelphia | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | SportsNet Pittsburgh | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| San Jose Sharks | NBC Sports Bay Area | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Seattle Kraken | Root Sports Northwest | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| St Louis Blues | FanDuel Sports Midwest | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Bally Sports Sun | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Vancouver Canucks | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Vegas Golden Knights | KMCC | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Washington Capitals | Monumental Sports | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Winnipeg Jets | ESPN+ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Note that all the games of the NHL teams that have no RSN should be available through ESPN+, so you can watch via Hulu + Live TV.
How to Stream NHL without Cable
If you’ve cut the cord, you’ll find multiple ways to watch NHL all the way through the Stanley Cup Finals without cable. It should be noted that these options will cost some money, though the cost will generally be lower than regular cable or satellite subscriptions.
| Service | Price | Channels | DVR (hrs) | Screens |
 | $79.99 | 150+ | unlimited | 10 |
 | $86.99 | 90+ | unlimited | unlimited |
 | $82.99 | 95+ | unlimited | 2 |
 | $40.00 | 30+ | 50 | 1/3 |
 | $82.99 | 100+ | unlimited | 3 |
Streaming Features
You to stream on multiple devices with all of these services so multiple people can watch different shows at the same time. Additionally, all the services include a cloud DVR.
In terms of supported devices, these streaming services support most including Amazon Fire TV, Android Mobile, Android TV smart TVs, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Samsung TVs, and web browsers. Other devices like gaming systems (eg, Xbox, PlayStation) are also widely supported.
2024-25 NHL Season
The NHL preseason runs from Saturday, September 21st through October 5th. The regular runs from Tuesday, October 4th through Thursday, April 17th.
Today’s Games
Here are the upcoming NHL games. When a game has no TV channel listed, it should appear on the team’s RSN in-market and ESPN+ out-of-market.
| Date | Time (ET) | Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Dec 15 | 3:00 pm | New York Islanders vs Chicago Blackhawks | |
| Sun Dec 15 | 5:00 pm | Buffalo Sabres vs Toronto Maple Leafs | |
| Sun Dec 15 | 5:00 pm | Columbus Blue Jackets vs Carolina Hurricanes | |
| Sun Dec 15 | 6:00 pm | New York Rangers vs St. Louis Blues | |
| Sun Dec 15 | 6:00 pm | Vegas Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild |
Playoff Games
See our NHL Playoffs guide for up-to-date information about the 2025 postseason schedule.
Our Choice
That’s it. Those are the best ways that you can watch NHL without cable. Fubo is my top pick for NHL fans. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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