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-cutters out there including in-market and out-of-market games. In this streaming TV hockey guide, we will reviews the best available streaming options for the 2019-2020 NHL season such as Sling TV, fuboTV, Hulu, NHL.TV, ESPN+ and more.
Page Contents
- 1 How To Watch NHL Games Live Without Cable
- 2 Which Channels Stream NHL Games?
- 3 Live Stream NHL Games With fuboTV
- 4 Stream NHL Games With Hulu Plus Live TV
- 5 Stream NHL.TV With ESPN+
- 6 Watch Live National Hockey League Games With Sling TV
- 7 Additional Ways To Stream NHL Games
- 8 How To Stream NHL Games Out-of-Market
- 9 Illegal Streams of National Hockey League Games
- 10 2019-2020 NHL Team Guide For Watching Games Online
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 or by signing up for NHL.TV. First of all, streaming services offer access to 21 of the 24 US-based NHL teams. There are currently no streaming options available for Canadian teams. Also, there is currently no full time streaming options for Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vegas Golden Knights. However, ESPN+ will air several games from these teams this year. Local blackout restrictions apply to several teams; however, this can be circumvented by using a VPN. We cover how to use a VPN for viewing NHL games later on in this article.
As with most sports, NHL teams have specific licensing deals with specific channels, regional sports networks, and sports networks. It is important to see which network your favorite team is streamed on and pick a service that carries that channel. The most popular live streaming services for NHL games are fuboTV, Sling TV, Hulu, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV.
The following is a chart detailing which streaming services carry games for your favorite team.
| Teams |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | |||||
| Arizona Coyotes | |||||
| Boston Bruins | |||||
| Buffalo Sabres | |||||
| Carolina Hurricanes | |||||
| Chicago Blackhawks | |||||
| Colorado Avalanche | |||||
| Columbus Blue Jackets | |||||
| Dallas Stars | |||||
| Detroit Red Wings | |||||
| Florida Panthers | |||||
| Los Angeles Kings | |||||
| Minnesota Wild | |||||
| Nashville Predators | |||||
| New Jersey Devils | |||||
| New York Islanders | |||||
| New York Rangers | |||||
| Philadelphia Fliers | |||||
| Pittsburgh Penguins | |||||
| San Jose Sharks | |||||
| St. Louis Blues | |||||
| Tampa Bay Lightning | |||||
| Vegas Golden Knights | |||||
| Washington Capitals |
**Update - Currently Sling TV has dropped all Fox Networks 9/28/2019
Which Channels Stream NHL Games?
NHL games are televised on the following channels: NBC Sports Network, NBC, NHL Network, MSG, MSG+, NESN, and FOX Regional Sports Networks (RSNs).
| Channels | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBC Sports Network | |||||
| NBC | |||||
| NHL Network | |||||
| MSG | |||||
| MSG+ | |||||
| NESN | |||||
| RSNs |
Live Stream NHL Games With fuboTV
fuboTV is our top choice for streaming NHL hockey games. Most notably, 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+, NESN, and FOX Sports Regional Networks. Additionally, this service does not require a contract nor does it have any installation costs.
fuboTV provides access to every U.S. NHL team with the exceptions of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Colorado Avalanche.
The following NHL teams are carried by fuboTV on the following channels:
- Anaheim Ducks – Fox Sports West
- Arizona Coyotes – Fox Sports Arizona
- Carolina Hurricanes – Fox Sports Carolinas
- Chicago Blackhawks – Comcast SportsNet Chicago
- Columbus Blue Jackets – Fox Sports Ohio
- Dallas Stars – Fox Sports Southwest
- Detroit Red Wings – Fox Sports Detroit
- Florida Panthers – Fox Sports Florida
- Los Angeles Kings – Fox Sports West
- Minnesota Wild – Fox Sports North
- Nashville Predators – Fox Sports Tennessee
- San Jose Sharks – Comcast SportsNet California
- St Louis Blues – Fox Sports Midwest
- Tampa Bay Lightning – Fox Sports Sun
- Washington Capitals – Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
- Philidelphia Flyers – Comcast Sports Net Philidelphia
- New York Rangers – MSG Network
- New York Islanders – MSG Network
- New Jersey Devils – MSG Network
- Buffalo Sabres – MSG Network
- Boston Bruins – NESN Network
fuboTV offers several different packages fubo Standard ($54.99/mo), Family ($59.99/mo), Family Deluxe ($64.99/month), Premium ($74.99/mo), and fubo Latino ($24.99/mo). Unless you want more channels the standard plan should be enough to watch your favorite team.
The fubo Standard package contains 97 channels; Family has 97 channels, 3 screens at once, and 500 hours of cloud DVR; Family Deluxe has 132 channels, 3 screens at once, 500 hours of cloud DVR, and fubo Extra; Premium has 132 channels, 3 screens at once, 500 hours of cloud DVR, and fubo Extra; Premium has 141 channels, 3 screens at once, 500 hours of cloud DVR, 9 Showtime channels on-demand, and fubo Extra.
New customers can get a 7-day free trial by going through our link. Please read our comprehensive fuboTV review for more details.
Stream NHL Games With Hulu Plus Live TV
Hulu is no longer just an on-demand streaming platform, Hulu now has live TV and sports. In other words, this service is an excellent way to watch your favorite NHL teams.
With this live streaming TV service, you get access to CNBC, NBC, NBCSN, USA, Fox Sports regional networks, and NBC regional sports networks. However, notably missing from the channel lineup is NHL Network. Recently, Hulu has been the official sponsor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well.
Hulu only offers one live streaming TV package which costs $44.99/month. In addition to sports, Hulu + Live TV contains over 60 channels. Other popular channels offered by this service are FS1, FS1, TNT, Nat Geo, Discovery Channel, FX/FXX, and more. Hulu works on mobile devices, computers, smart TVs, and streaming devices such as Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
Stream NHL.TV With ESPN+
ESPN+ is a direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International group in partnership with ESPN. The service is a great way 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+ offers more than 180 regular-season NHL games as part of its regular subscription which costs $4.99/month or $49.99/annual. Fans will also be able to purchase and watch the entire NHL.TV package as part of ESPN+ for an additional price of $24.99 per month.
NHL.TV is a standalone streaming service that lets you live stream every out-of-market NHL game. One of the major features is it allows you to watch up to four games at once, all season long. Additionally, you can choose not only from extra camera angles (two over-the-goal cameras, a zipline aerial cam, and the first-person ref cam) but also which audio hear: the television broadcast or the play-by-play for the team you’re cheering for. That’s in addition to an on-demand library of previous games and DVR capabilities that allow you to save, pause, and rewind as needed. Plus, it streams in 60 grams per second.
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. Read our comprehensive ESPN+ review.
Watch Live National Hockey League Games With Sling TV
Sling TV is also a great option for viewing NHL games this year. Unlike cable or satellite TV, the service does not require a contract nor does it have any installation costs. Sling TV streaming service offers NBC, NBCSN, USA, CNBC, GOLF Channel, NHL Network, and NBC Sports Network. However, due to a carriage dispute with FOX, they have dropped all Fox Sports Networks therefore at the current time this may not be a great option for NHL fans. This service also carries NBC SportsNet which streams two games nationally every week.
** PLEASE NOTE THAT SLING HAS CURRENTLY PULLED FOX NETWORKS **
The following NHL teams are carried by Sling TV on the following channels:
- Anaheim Ducks – Fox Sports West
- Arizona Coyotes – Fox Sports Arizona
- Carolina Hurricanes – Fox Sports Carolinas
- Chicago Blackhawks – Comcast SportsNet Chicago
- Columbus Blue Jackets – Fox Sports Ohio
- Dallas Stars – Fox Sports Southwest
- Detroit Red Wings – Fox Sports Detroit
- Florida Panthers – Fox Sports Florida
- Los Angeles Kings – Fox Sports West
- Minnesota Wild – Fox Sports North
- Nashville Predators – Fox Sports Tennessee
- San Jose Sharks – Comcast SportsNet California
- St Louis Blues – Fox Sports Midwest
- Tampa Bay Lightning – Fox Sports Sun
- Washington Capitals – Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Sling TV offers the Sling Orange and Sling Blue plans. Both streaming plans cost $30/month or you can get Orange + Blue for $40/month. Most NHL fans are going to want the Blue plan. For an extra $10 you can sign-up for the Sports Extra add-on to get NHL Network. Sports Extra gives subscribers access to even more sports such as football, baseball, and basketball on channels such as ESPNU, ESPNews, SEC Network, NFL RedZone and more. (New users that pre-pay 2 months can receive a free Roku device)
Please read our comprehensive Sling TV review for more details.
Additional Ways To Stream NHL Games
- NHL.TV – Formerly known as “GameCenter Live,” NHL.TV makes every NHL regular season game available live online. This service is loaded with blackout restrictions. You will likely need a VPN.
- PlayStation Vue – You will need to get the Core package for $49.99/month. PS Vue is good but is for people who primarliy streaming through their game console.
- YouTube TV – Very popular new service but lack variety of streaming packages and add-ons. Does not carry the MSG Network. This service costs $40.00/month.
How To Stream NHL Games Out-of-Market
NHL is one of those sports that has a lot of blackout restrictions, especially for hockey cord-cutters. The good news is there is a way around these blackout restrictions for most of the services covered in this guide. NHL.TV allows you to watch every single out-of-market game all season long. The best way to get NHL.TV is with ESPN+ which was covered in an earlier section.
Services like NHL.TV will blackout your local team. However, there is good news and that news is VPNs or Virtual Private Networks. VPNs help protect your streaming data and viewing habits by encrypting it. Today’s VPNs are fast and inexpensive.
A VPN allows you to “mask” your IP address by connecting to a server in another location. If your local hockey team has blackouts then you simply connect to a different region that is able to show your team. You may also use a VPN to access RSNs in different geographical regions.
Our top-rated VPN is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is a fast, reliable, and inexpensive option to pair with your favorite streaming service. Plans begin as low as $8.32/month. You can try ExpressVPN free for 30-days.
Please Note: Using a VPN may be against your streaming service’s user agreement and you should proceed with caution.
Illegal Streams of National Hockey League Games
It is our policy to never recommend any illegal streams of NHL games or anything else. Most illegal “free” streams put you at considerable risk to acquire viruses and dangerous malware. These streams are untrustworthy, blurry, low-quality, and quite frankly just flat out garbage. We do not believe it is worth the risk by any means just to save a few bucks.
2019-2020 NHL Team Guide For Watching Games Online
| Atlantic Division Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs | Metropolitan Division Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals |
| Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks Arizona Coyotes Calgary Flames Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks Vegas Golden Knights | Central Division Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalance Dallas Stars Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators St. Louis Blues Winnipeg Jets |
