How to Watch NHL Hockey With Sling TV
Stream nationally-televised NHL Hockey games on ESPN and TNT with Sling Orange all season long!
Lord Stanley spent another warm offseason in Florida with the Panthers, but like a reverse snowbird, the Cup is ready to hit the road now that the weather is cooling off. The NHL is full of new faces and even a new club, which means this season is set to be full of surprises.
Alexander Ovechkin has a chance at history as he chases the all time goals record. The Capitals star will need to turn on the heat and outpace last year's total. Ovechkin needs 42 goals to claim the record currently held by Wayne Gretzky.
Macklin Celebrini (the No. 1 overall pick selected by the San Jose Sharks) and Flyers forward Matvei Michkov will both be entertaining as they enter their rookie seasons and compete for the Calder Trophy.
The 2024-25 regular season kicked off in Prague, Czechia on Friday, Oct. 4, with the New Jersey Devils completing a two-game sweep of the Buffalo Sabres. However most teams begin their seasons this week, beginning with a triple-header on ESPN on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Here’s a preview of the upcoming season, the weekly schedule, and everything you need to know to watch the NHL with Sling TV.
Weekly NHL Schedule on Sling!
To watch games on TNT and ESPN, subscribe to Sling Orange, and add the Sports Extras pack for games on NHL Network!
How to Watch the NHL Regular Season on Sling
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Nationally-televised NHL games during the regular season are split between three networks: TNT (Sling Orange or Blue), ESPN (Sling Orange), and NHL Network (Sports Extra). TNT has the rights to 62 regular season games, most of which air during a Wednesday night doubleheader; TNT will also air a double-header on Black Friday (Nov. 29), and the Winter Classic on New Year's Eve. ESPN games will mostly air on Tuesdays. Some of the weekend ESPN broadcasts are elevated to ABC, which you can watch with Sling Blue in select markets. In lieu of the All-Star Game, TNT, ESPN, and ABC will have coverage of the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and TNT has the rights to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.
Subscribing to Sling Orange to get ESPN and TNT and adding the Sports Extra package to get NHL Network is the best way to get the most NHL hockey on Sling TV. If you're a fan who lives out-of-market (i.e. a Bruins fan who lives in LA), the best option to watch all of your favorite team's games is to subscribe to ESPN+ to get NHL Power Play. Note: ESPN+ is not included with Sling and requires a separate subscription.
When are the Outdoor Games and All-Star Break?
The NHL Stadium Series will take place at Navy Federal Credit Union in Columbus, Ohio, where the Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
The 2025 Winter Classic will be held at the iconic Wrigley Field on Dec. 31. The Chicago Blackhawks will host the St. Louis Blues. This will be the second time the NHL has played the Winter Classic more than once in the same park, following the 2010 and 2023 Winter Classics at Fenway Park in Boston.
There will be no All-Star Weekend in 2025. Instead, the NHL will hold the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off will take place from Feb. 12-20, with one bracket in Boston, and the other in Montreal, Canada. The tournament will feature players from the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden facing off in a six-game, round-robin tournament, followed by a championship game between the top two teams.
Rebound or Regress?
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The Florida Panthers will be on a mission to repeat and if their core players – Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov – can stay healthy and perform at a high level, the Panthers could have another cup in their future. However, with their divisional rivals making aggressive improvements to their rosters this offseason and given Florida’s free agency losses, it won’t be a walk in the park to capture their third division crown in four seasons.
The Avalanche signing free agent Jonathan Drouin in 2023 was an extremely strategic move and he saw a major career resurgence, leading to him sticking around Colorado for another season. However, the Avalanche are heading into this season with some uncertainty in two of their key players: Valeri Nichushkin (whose six month suspension was announced during the team's semifinal series against the Dallas Stars) and Gabriel Landeskog, who has not played in a game since their Cup-winning run in the summer of 2022. Colorado needs to stay physical this season, but if they're able to maintain goaltending consistency from Alexandar Georgiev and if stars like Cale Makar and reigning Hart-winner Nathan MacKinnon continue to be successful, they should contend no matter what.
Eyes were on the Chicago Blackhawks last season as they drafted the poster child of the NHL, Connar Bedard. He proved himself ready for the big leagues, landing 61 total points in just 69 games with a shell of a roster around him. Bedard earned himself the Calder Trophy, but the Blackhawks need to make major adjustments if they want to have any shot at a playoff appearance. Their roster is looking better after making some key moves this offseason, and with Taylor Hall healthy, they hope to spark some excitement in Chicago
Anaheim also had tough go last season and will need to bounce back with more intensity. The Ducks need Trevor Zegras to rediscover his offense, but he has proven himself an asset before and should have a year if he is able to stay healthy. In terms of goaltending, Lukas Dostal showed he could be ready to take charge in net this preseason. The Ducks are far from being a playoff team, but they have young talent and with the addition of Cutter Gaurthier, their offense could carry them farther than people expect.
Players Who Slid to a New Team
Major trades and signings include:
- After 16 seasons and two Stanley Cups with the Lightning, Steven Stamkos joined the Nashville Predators. Stamkos will be joined in Nashville by Jonathan Marchessault, who won the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP two years ago with Vegas.
- The Oilers, who are trying to rebound from their loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, signed Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson.
- However, Edmonton lost forward Dylan Holloway and defender Philip Broberg to St. Louis.
- The Boston Bruins traded goaltender Linus Ullmark to Ottawa and will use Joonas Korpisalo until they can get a deal done with established starter Jeremy Swayman.
- The Kings traded center Pierre-Luc Dubois to Washington for goalie Darcy Kuemper.
- Calgary traded Jacob Markström to New Jersey.
- Chicago welcomed Teuvo Teravainen back from Carolina.
- Blake Wheeler signed with the Rangers.
- Former Columbus Blue Jacket Patrik Laine was traded to the Montreal Canadians
Utah Hockey Club
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The Arizona Coyotes organization is now inactive, and this year the Utah Hockey Club is joining the NHL. Although they're technically considered an expansion team, Utah acquired the players, coaching staff, and draft picks of the Coyotes. As such, they entered this offseason with salary-cap space and draft capital available, and both were put to good use building a defense. Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino are top defensemen that were added to the roster, while veteran Ian Cole will help round out the team. Not to mention Utah already has star defenseman Sean Durzi. Led by their All-Star captain Clayton Keller, it should be interesting to see if Utah can follow in the footsteps of expansion teams like the Golden Knights and Kraken and make immediate waves in the Western Conference. - Mari Dietz