Stream the excitement of the NHL’s opening night!
Stream the excitement of the NHL’s opening night!
The puck drops on another thrilling NHL season on Tuesday, and we’ll explain how to stream each game of the opening night festivities here.
The excitement of the 2026-27 NHL season has finally arrived! Games begin on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m. ET, with ESPN set to host a tripleheader to get hockey fans excited for the rest of the year The Stanley Cup champions will be in action on opening night, and fans will be able to watch the evening’s games, along with a huge number of NHL games throughout the rest of the year, with a subscription to DIRECTV.
How to watch the 2026-27 NHL opening night
- When: Starts Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN, ESPN+
- Stream: Watch with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV or on ESPN Unlimited.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know about the 2026-27 NHL opening night
What’s the schedule of 2026-27 NHL opening night games?
ESPN is hosting the only three NHL opening night games that are being televised in the United States. The other two games of the evening, featuring only Canadian teams, will be exclusively available to stream in the U.S. on NHL Power Play on ESPN+, which is part of the ESPN Select subscription tier.
See the schedule of games below:
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Outlets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, Sept. 29 | 5 p.m. | Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes | ESPN, ESPN Unlimited |
| 7 p.m. | Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL Power Play on ESPN+ | |
| 8 p.m. | New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins | ESPN, ESPN Unlimited | |
| 10 p.m. | Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers | NHL Power Play on ESPN+ | |
| 10:30 p.m. | Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vegas Golden Knights | ESPN, ESPN Unlimited |
See analysts discuss the NHL opening night schedule
Why watch the 2026-27 NHL opening night on DIRECTV?
DIRECTV is the perfect place to watch the opening night festivities from the NHL. The streamer’s MySports Genre Pack is the plan we’re targeting; this package includes 20+ sports channels, including ESPN and other NHL partners like ABC, TNT, and NHL Network. Viewers can add their local RSN to the MySports Genre Pack with the MyHome Team Mini-Pack add-on as well, unlocking even more hockey games.
The MySports Genre Pack also offers an ESPN Unlimited subscription at no extra costs, which includes everything in ESPN Select — including NHL Power Play. Watch out-of-market NHL games from across the league with your DIRECTV MySports subscription, or switch over to games on national TV channels at your leisure.
Normally, the MySports Genre Pack will cost you $65 per month. For a limited time, however, new customers can sign up for the package for only $45 per month for their first six months after a five-day free trial! That will carry NHL fans nearly all the way through the regular season and will allow them to watch a host of other sports in addition to live hockey games at a great price.
DIRECTV
DIRECTV is one of The Streamable’s top choices for the best live TV streaming service overall in 2026, especially for users who want the most channels or want to watch the most live sports. With an unbeatable lineup of local, news, sports, and entertainment channels, three main signature packages, an unlimited DVR, and 20 simultaneous streams at home, DIRECTV remains a premier choice for any cord-cutter.
Can you watch 2026-27 NHL opening night for free?
Fubo provides new subscribers a free trial between one and seven days, depending on factors like what time of month you subscribe and others. Hulu + Live TV includes a three-day free trial for new customers, and YouTube TV has a trial between two and 21 days. All of these streamers have ESPN and include ESPN Unlimited with at least some packages.
All the streamers you can use to watch 2026-27 NHL opening night
Viewers can stream the 2026-27 NHL opening night with a subscription to DIRECTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV. Of these live TV streaming options, DIRECTV is our favorite choice. Sling offers access to ESPN via Sling Orange starting at just $5 per day.
Viewers can also stream all live NHL games on ABC and ESPN with ESPN Unlimited, starting at $32 per month. ESPN Unlimited also has out-of-market games on NHL Power Play.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ESPN | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
How to watch the 2026-27 NHL opening night from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the 2026-27 NHL opening night as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming service like DIRECTV in order to stream the games with a VPN.
NordVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month — plus you’ll get three extra months FREE. A high-speed VPN with best-in-class security that can be used on up to 10 devices at once — what more could you ask for? Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!
While NordVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Best Features: ExpressVPN | Starting at $5 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available
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