The 2021-22 NHL season is underway as the league’s 32 teams compete for a chance to win the Stanley Cup. During Tuesday night’s season opener, the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning raised their banner in front of 19,000 cheering fans. Unfortunately for the Lightning, they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-2, on what was supposed to be a celebratory night.
The NHL’s newest teams capped off opening night when the Seattle Kraken traveled to Sin City to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken played their first game in franchise history on the road in T-Mobile Arena filled with over 18,000 fans. The night wasn’t golden for the Kraken as Vegas handed the league’s newest franchise a 4-3 defeat.
Fans will notice some differences when it comes to the viewing experience this season. The league has new broadcast partners, ESPN, Hulu, and ABC will have exclusive rights to over 103 games. This is the first time that ABC has aired hockey games since 2004. They won’t be the only new broadcaster for the NHL this season, TNT, TBS, and HBO Max will cover some of the national broadcasts, Winter Classics, and select Stanley Cups over the next 7 years.
The hard-hitting action on the ice has returned. Fans are back at stadiums to cheer on their favorite team and to watch every goal and body check. Cord cutters can find out how to watch every single moment of Week 1 of the 2021-2022 NHL season without cable below.
NHL Start Times and Channels
Wednesday, October 13
| Game | Time | Channels |
| Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, TVAS, Sportsnet |
| New York Rangers at Washington Capitals | 7:30 PM | TNT |
| Chicago Blackhawks at Colorado Avalanche | 10:00 PM | TNT |
| Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers | 10:00 PM | ESPN+, Sportsnet |
| Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks | 10:00 PM | ESPN+, Sportsnet1, Sportsnet360, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports San Diego |
Thursday, October 14
| Game | Time | Channels |
| Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, MSG-B, TSN2, RDS |
| Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, RDS2, TSN4, TSN5 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins at Florida Panthers | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, ATT SportsNet-Pittsburgh, Bally Sports Florida |
| Dallas Stars at New York Rangers | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, MSG, Bally Sports Southwest |
| New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, TVAS, MSG+, Bally Sports Southeast |
| Arizona Coyotes at Columbus Blue Jackets | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports Arizona, Bally Sports Ohio |
| Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Sox | 7:30 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports Detroit |
| Seattle Kraken at Nashville Predators | 8:00 PM | NHL Network, Bally Sports South, ROOT Northwest |
| Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings | 10:30 PM | ESPN+, TVAS, ATT SportsNet-Rocky Mountain, Bally Sports West |
Friday, October 15
| Game | Time | Channels |
| Chicago Blackhawks at New Jersey Devils | 7:00 PM | NHL Network, TVAS, MSG+, NBC Sports Chicago |
| Vancouver Canucks at Philadelphia Flyers | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, SN1, NBC Sports Philadelphia |
| Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks | 10:00 PM | ESPN+, HULU |
Saturday, October 16
| Game | Time | Channels |
| Arizona Coyotes at Buffalo Sabres | 1:00 PM | NHL Network, Sportsnet, MSG-B, Bally Sports Arizona |
| New York Islanders at Florida Panthers | 6:00 PM | ESPN+, MSG+, Bally Sports Florida |
| Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports Southwest, NESN |
| Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, CBC, SNO, SNW |
| New York Rangers at Montreal Canadiens | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, TVAS, CITY, SNE, MSG |
| Vancouver Canucks at Detroit Red Wings | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, SNP, Bally Sports Detroit |
| Chicago Blackhawks at Pittsburgh Penguins | 7:00 PM | NHL Network, NBC Sports Chicago, ATT SportsNet-Pittsburgh |
| Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports Sun, NBC Sports Washington |
| Seattle Kraken at Columbus Blue Jackets | 7:00 PM | ESPN+, ROOT Northwest, Bally Sports Ohio |
| Carolina Hurricanes at Nashville Predators | 8:00 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports Southeast |
| St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche | 9:00 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports Midwest, Altitude |
| Calgary Flame at Edmonton Oilers | 10:00 PM | ESPN+, CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP |
| Winnipeg Jets at San Jose Sharks | 10:00 PM | ESPN+, CITY, SNW, NBC Sports California |
| Minnesota Wild at Los Angeles Kings | 10:00 PM | ESPN+, Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Wisconsin, Bally Sports West |
Sunday, October 17
| Game | Time | Channels |
| Dallas Stars at Ottawa Senators | 5:00 PM | NHL Network, TVAS, TSN5, Bally Sports Southwest |
Where to Watch NHL Games This Week
With a full schedule of NHL games across the country, fans have plenty of choices when it comes to watching each game from the opening face-off to the goal.
ESPN+: Watch select NHL games throughout the season on ESPN+ for $6.99 per month, or save over 15% with an ESPN+ Annual Plan at $69.99 per year. ESPN+ will stream every non-national out-of-market game throughout the 2021-22 NHL regular season.
Hulu with Live: Hulu will be home to over 75 games this season. Cord cutters can subscribe to Hulu and watch thousands of hours of content from their expanding library and live hockey games starting at $69.99 per year or $6.99/mo.
Disney Bundle: The Disney Bundle brings you ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ at a discounted price of $13.99/mo for Hulu (Ad-Supported) or for $19.99/mo. with Hulu (No Ads). The Bundle gives you access to everything on Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. If you upgrade your bundle to include Hulu with Live, that includes over 75 nationally televised games on Hulu, 11 national games simulcasted on ABC, and over 1,000 out-of-market games.
Subscribers to live TV streaming services can check out our chart below to see if your service will be streaming today’s games.
| Channel | DirecTV Stream | fuboTV | Hulu with Live | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | YouTube TV |
| $69.99 | $64.99 | $64.99 | $35 | $35 | $64.99 | |
| TNT | X | X | X | X | X | |
| TBS | X | X | X | X | X | |
| NHL Network | 94.99 | $10/mo. with the Sports Lite package add-on | +$11/mo. with the Sports Extra package add-on | +$11/mo. with the Sports Extra package add-on | ||
| Altitude | 84.99 | |||||
| AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh | 84.99 | X | ||||
| AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain | 84.99 | X | ||||
| AT&T SportsNet Southwest | 84.99 | X | ||||
| Bally Sports Arizona | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Carolinas | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Detroit | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Florida | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Midwest | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports North | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Ohio | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports San Diego | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports SoCal | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports South | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Southeast | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Southwest | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Sun | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Tennessee | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports West | 84.99 | |||||
| Bally Sports Wisconsin | 84.99 | |||||
| MSG | 84.99 | X | ||||
| MSG+ | 84.99 | X | ||||
| NBC Sports Bay Area | 84.99 | X | X | X | ||
| NESN | 84.99 | X | X | |||
| NBC Sports California | 84.99 | X | X | X | ||
| NBC Sports Chicago | 84.99 | X | X | X | ||
| NBC Sports Philadelphia | X | X | X | |||
| NBC Sports Washington | 84.99 | X | X | X | ||
| Root Sports Northwest | 84.99 | X | ||||
| SportsNet NY | 84.99 | X | X | X |