The rumors were true after all — Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, KHL for short, is now available on ESPN+.
ESPN+ will stream more than 130 KHL games this season, including all playoff and Gagarin Cup championship games, exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. Throughout the season, ESPN+ will stream two games per week, and all games will be presented in English.
The KHL is the top professional ice hockey league in Europe and Asia, with 23 teams based in Russia, Belarus, China, Finland, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. The KHL is the world’s second-biggest hockey league after the NHL and serves as a destination for young Eastern European hockey stars to make a name for themselves before coming to the NHL, or for veteran NHL players who want to go home for a few years before retiring.
The addition of KHL games adds to a suddenly booming lineup of hockey coverage on ESPN+, now that the NHL is back on the four-letter network. Earlier this year, ESPN and the NHL signed a seven-year television, streaming, and media rights deal that brought hockey back to ESPN for the first time in almost two decades.
Coverage of the KHL on ESPN+ begins today with HC CSKA Moscow, last season’s Gagarin Cup runner-up, hosting Ak Bars Kazan at 12 p.m. ET. Here’s the full slate of KHL games coming to ESPN+:
| Date | Start Time (ET) | Matchup (Home vs. Away) |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 1 | 12 pm | CSKA vs Ak Bars |
| Oct. 3 | 10 am | Ak Bars vs Salavat Yulaev |
| Oct. 6 | 12 pm | Dynamo Msk vs CSKA |
| Oct. 8 | 10 am | Salavat Yulaev vs Jokerit |
| Oct. 12 | 10 am | Salavat Yulaev vs Ak Bars |
| Oct. 15 | 12:30 pm | Jokerit vs SKA |
| Oct. 19 | 12:30 pm | Dinamo R vs Metallurg Mg |
| Oct. 22 | 12 pm | Ak Bars vs Avangard |
| Oct. 25 | 12 pm | Avangard vs SKA |
| Oct. 29 | 12 pm | Dynamo Msk vs SKA |
ESPN+
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