NHL playoff race heats as the Wings face the Blue Jackets outdoors—here’s how to stream
NHL playoff race heats as the Wings face the Blue Jackets outdoors—here’s how to stream
With just two points separating them, every moment in this Stadium Series game matters.
The 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series isn’t just an outdoor spectacle - it’s a full-on wild card battle. The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are neck and neck in the Eastern Conference playoff race, making this matchup at Ohio Stadium even more intense. With just two points separating them in the standings, every shift, every goal, and every save could be the difference between a playoff spot and a long summer ahead. Add in the fact that this game taps into the classic Michigan-Ohio sports rivalry, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a must-watch NHL game. The action starts on Saturday, March 1 at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN, which you can watch with a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch 2025 NHL Stadium Series Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
- When: Saturday, March 1 at 6 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: Watch with a subscription to Sling TV, or with ESPN+ or Disney+
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2025 NHL Stadium Series
Why we like Sling TV for watching the 2025 NHL Stadium Series?
Over the next four months, hockey fans will be in heaven as the NHL works its way to Lord Stanley’s Cup. As the league moves its way through the regular season’s home stretch and into the playoffs, Sling is the best way to catch all of the action. The streamer is the cheapest way to get national broadcast channels and the biggest cable networks as well, which will be especially important as Sling carries every network that will air the games.
Normally, Sling costs $46 per month, but you can currently get 50% off your first month of service, meaning that you can watch a month of the college and NBA seasons for as little as $23. Sling has two different base packages, Orange and Blue. You can subscribe to one or both. If you do opt to combine Orange and Blue it will run you $61 monthly — still substantially cheaper than the comparable live TV streaming services — but with the first-month deal, you can stream everything on both packages for just $30.50.
Every nationally broadcast NHL game in the regular and postseason will on ESPN, ABC, or TNT, so that means that there is no cheaper option to watch all of the hockey action than Sling TV.
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
Can you watch NHL Stadium Series for free?
If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV STREAM’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.
The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.
If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV STREAM, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ESPN | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
What are all of the streamers you can use to watch NHL Stadium Series?
Fortunately for hockey fans, there are five different streaming services that will stream the NHL Stadium Series, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed Sling TV and the four free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.
If you are looking to find a long-term streaming service and want to avoid the potential of having to pay more if price hikes strike, then DIRECTV via Internet is your best bet. Packages start as low as $70 per month and come with a two-year price guarantee. This, of course, locks you into a two-year contract, but with prices increasing fairly regularly, it is understandable why this would be an attractive offer to many people.
Ultimately, there are tons of different ways to stream the game, and while we recommend Sling TV as the best way to stream all of the college and pro basketball season, you have plenty of options to find the platform that meets your needs.
→ Give our new Streaming Companion tool a try
Watch the trailer for the 2025 NHL Stadium Series
About 2025 NHL Stadium Series
The 2025 NHL Stadium Series is set for Saturday, March 1, bringing outdoor hockey to the massive Ohio Stadium in Columbus. And while the hockey game is a big one for these two Wild Card teams, there’s plenty of other reasons to tune in - rock duo Twenty One Pilots is performing during the first intermission, giving the hometown crowd something extra to cheer for.
Calling the game will be Sean McDonough on play-by-play, with Ray Ferraro providing analysis. Rinkside reporters Emily Kaplan, Kevin Weekes, and Marty Smith will be on the ice bringing fans the latest updates, while the studio crew - Steve Levy, Mark Messier, and P.K. Subban - will be breaking it all down from Columbus. The broadcast is pulling out all the stops, too, with Skycam, on-ice skate cams, and a special “Best Seat in the House” section right by the glass where special guests will rotate in throughout the night. Puck drops at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Live TV Streaming Find out more >
Service Matchmaker
Our Matchmaker lets you compare multiple channels across all live TV streaming services. Just tell us what you watch and we’ll handle the rest.
