How To Watch NHL Games Without Cable

Watching your favorite NHL teams (R) and hockey games without a cable TV subscription is super easy. For this upcoming NHL season there are many different choices available for almost every type of cord-cutter out there including in-market and out-of-market games. In this streaming TV hockey guide, we will review the best available streaming options for the 2021-2022 NHL season such as DIRECTV STREAM, ESPN+, fuboTV, Hulu With Live TV, and more.

How To Watch NHL Games Live Without Cable

You can watch live NHL games without a cable TV subscription by using a live TV streaming service. In 2021-2022 season, NHL teams will to playing a full 82 game schedule and the NHL will return to the normal divisions.

How to watch NHL games live depends on whether you want to watch the game in-market or out-of-market. If you live in-market you can subscribe to a live television streaming service that offers the regional sports network that is in your location. DIRECTV STREAM, fuboTV, and Hulu Live TV are popular streaming services that offer regional sports networks. If you want to watch out-of-market games you will need NHL.TV which now exclusively part of ESPN+.

Which streaming service to choose also depends upon which NHL team you want to watch. All of the US-based NHL teams can be found on DIRECTV STREAM, fuboTV, or Hulu Live TV. All of the Canadian based NHL teams can only be accessed with ESPN+.

Teams & Channels
Anaheim Ducks Bally Sports SoCal	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Arizona Coyotes Bally Sports Arizona Plus	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Boston Bruins NESN	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
Buffalo Sabres MSG	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
Calgary Flames ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑
Carolina Hurricanes Bally Sports South	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Chicago Blackhawks NBC Sports Chicago	☑	☑	☑	☐	☐
Colorado Avalanche Altitude	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Columbus Blue Jackets Bally Sports Ohio	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Dallas Stars Bally Sports Southwest	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Detroit Red Wings Bally Sports Detroit	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Edmonton Oilers ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑
Florida Panthers Bally Sports Florida	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Los Angeles Kings Bally Sports West	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Minnesota Wild Bally Sports North	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Montreal Canadiens ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑
Nashville Predators Bally Sports South	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
New Jersey Devils MSG+	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
New York Islanders MSG+	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
New York Rangers MSG	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
Ottawa Senators ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑
Philadelphia Fliers NBC Sports Philadelphia	☐	☑	☑	☐	☐
Pittsburgh Penguins AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
San Jose Sharks NBC Sports California	☑	☑	☑	☐	☐
Seattle Kraken Root Sports Northwest	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
St. Louis Blues Bally Sports Midwest	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Tampa Bay Lightning Bally Sports Sun	☑	☐	☐	☐	☐
Toronto Maple Leafs ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑
Vancouver Canucks ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑
Vegas Golden Knights AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain	☑	☑	☐	☐	☐
Washington Capitals NBC Sports Washington	☑	☑	☑	☐	☐
Winnipeg Jets ESPN+	☐	☐	☐	☐	☑

* Based on the in-market location

Which Channels Stream NHL Games?

NHL games are televised on the following channels: ABC, Bally Sports Networks, ESPN, ESPN2, NHL Network, TBS, and TNT.

Channels
ABC	☑	☑	☑	☐	☐
ESPN	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐
ESPN2	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐
NHL Network	☑	☑	☐	☑	☐
RSNs	☑	☑	☑	☑	☐
TBS	☑	☐	☑	☑	☐
TNT	☑	☐	☑	☑	☐

Stream NHL Games With DIRECTV STREAM

The best option available for watching NHL games is DIRECTV STREAM. DIRECTV STREAM was formerly known as AT&T TV. This streaming service carries regional sports networks for every US-based NHL team except for the Philadelphia Flyers. This includes Altitude, Bally Sports Networks, NBC Sports Networks, AT&T Sports Networks, MSG, NESN, YES, and others.

To get access to these NHL regional sports networks you will need to subscribe to the DIRECTV STREAM Choice package or above. The Choice package costs $84.99/month which also includes 90+ live channels and local TV stations, 45,000+ on-demand titles, and free HBO Max, Showtime, EPIX, and Cinemax for the first 3-months.

DIRECTV STREAM does not require a contract or installation. You can access DIRECTV STREAM on multiple devices such as smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other streaming devices.

To learn more about this live TV streaming service please read our DIRECTV STREAM review or visit the DIRECTV STREAM website.

Live Stream NHL Games With fuboTV

fuboTV is another great choice for streaming NHL hockey games. This live streaming service gives subscribers access to most of the TV networks that carry NHL games such as NBC Sports Network, NBC, and MSG, MSG+, and NESN. Bally Sports Regional Networks are not available due to carriage disputes. Additionally, this service does not require a contract nor does it have any installation costs.

Currently, fuboTV offers regional sports networks for 9 NHL teams. These teams include Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and Washington Capitals. fuboTV is the least expensive option for MSG, MSG+, and NESN.

Another top reason to get fuboTV is that it offers NHL Network which typically airs ~100 NHL games every season. Only Sling TV and fuboTV offer NHL Network. fuboTV offers a 7-day free trial so you can try this streaming out first before committing to a monthly plan.

To learn more about this streaming service please read our fuboTV review or visit the fuboTV website.

Watch Live NHL Games With Hulu With Live TV

Hulu With Live TV was once one of the top options available for NHL games; however, Hulu now only offers availability to watch 4 NHL teams. These NHL teams are Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and the Washington Capitals. Much like other streaming platforms Bally Sports RSNs are no longer available due to carriage disputes.

Hulu only offers one live streaming TV package which is priced at $64.99/month. In addition to sports, Hulu Live TV contains over 65 channels. Other popular channels offered by this service include Animal Planet, FX, National Geographic, History, USA, local channels, and more.

To learn more about this streaming service visit out Hulu Live TV review or visit the Hulu Live TV website.

Stream Live NHL Games On ESPN+

ESPN+ is one of the best ways to watch NHL games this season. ESPN+ is the exclusive home to Quest For The Stanley Cup and the nightly NHL highlights and discussion program, In The Crease.

Additionally, ESPN+ is now the exclusive home to out-of-market NHL games including every Canadian based NHL team. ESPN+ offers more than 1,000 regular-season NHL games as part of its regular subscription and 75 exclusive, national NHL game telecasts. The service costs $6.99/month or $69.99/annual. If you subscribe to Disney+ and/or Hulu you can bundle ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu together for just $13.99/month.

ESPN+ also offers live and on-demand coverage of MLB, MLS, UFC, college football, and several other popular sports. Watch ESPN’s original content such as Peyton’s Places, 30 For 30, E:60, and more.

To learn more about this service please read our ESPN+ review or visit the ESPN+ website.

How To Stream NHL Games Out-of-Market

One of the greatest obstacles and annoyances of cord-cutting can be blackouts and the differences in available channels from market to market. When it comes to sporting events it can be even worse. However, there is good news and that news is VPNs or Virtual Private Networks. VPNs can be installed on virtually any device (smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, etc.). You can also use a device such as StreamLocator that has software already built-in. Visit the StreamLocator website to learn more.

A VPN allows you to “mask” your IP address by connecting to a server in another geolocation. This means that if you live in on the west coast but want to see a team from east coast, you can just set your VPN to that location and you will get the channels in that local market. This even works for international customers who want to see US TV and sports.

You may be thinking to yourself, “I don’t know, this sounds complicated.” But do not worry, VPNs sound complicated, but they are actually very easy to install and operate. Most VPNs only require just a few clicks to operate and you will never deal with a blackout ever again.

We recommend using ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN has thousands of servers across the globe, is one of the fastest VPNs, and is very easy to use. You can get ExpressVPN for 3-months free by visiting the ExpressVPN website.

Illegal Streams of National Hockey League Games

It is our policy to never recommend any illegal streams of NHL games or anything else. Many illegal “free” streams put you at considerable risk to acquire viruses and dangerous malware. Most illegal streams are terrible quality and frequently go dark in the middle of a game. Do you want to risk missing the game’s biggest moment because a stream went down? We do not believe it is worth the risk by any means just to save a few bucks.

2021-2022 NHL Team Guide For Watching Games Online