What to Expect from NHL Playoff Schedule: Will It Stream on ESPN+, HBO Max?

Update 4/30/22: This post has been updated with the official TV schedule. Some time slots of games have slightly shifted with official matchups.

The 2021-22 NHL season had plenty of changes when it came to watching games with two new media partners: ESPN and TNT. While during the regular season most of ESPN’s broadcasts were exclusively available on ESPN+/Hulu and Turner’s were on TNT, that won’t be the case during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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During the first two rounds of the postseason, there won’t be any games broadcast on ESPN+. Starting with the Conference Finals, select games will air on ABC, which will be simulcast on ESPN+. The Disney broadcast network and streaming service will also carry the Stanley Cup Finals.

Unlike the regular season, games aired by Turner won’t only air on TNT. With multiple games per night, about half of them will be broadcasting TBS. TNT will also be the home to one of the Conference Final matchups, but won’t carry the Stanley Cup Final until next season.

While their new deal with the NHL gives them rights to stream games on HBO Max, Turner confirmed to The Streamable that postseason games won’t be available to stream on HBO Max during the 2022 NHL Playoffs. However, those with a cable, satellite, or subscription to a Live TV Streaming Service, will be able to use their TV Everywhere credentials to watch all of TNT and TBS games via the WatchTNT app.

You will be able to stream all the games with a DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV. But, the least expensive way will be a subscription to Sling TV, which offers ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, & TBS in their Sling Orange Plan.

How Will the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoff Coverage Breakdown By Network?

Starting on May 2, ESPN/ESPN2 will air their coverage of the first two rounds of the NHL Playoffs. Turner’s coverage of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, won’t debut until May 5. This means that for the first five nights of the playoff schedule, all games will either be only ESPN or Turner networks, depending on the given night.

During the first weekend of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, ESPN will air an early game (12:30- 1:00 p.m.), while TNT/TBS will carry the rest of the coverage.

Games will also air on your local regional sports network (RSN), but — unlike during the regular season — customers in a team’s local market will be able to choose between either the local or national telecast without blackout restrictions.

2022 NHL Playoffs First Round Playoff TV Schedule (all times Eastern)

• Monday, May 2: ESPN (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and ESPN2 (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Tuesday, May 3: ESPN (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and ESPN2 (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Wednesday, May 4: ESPN (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and ESPN2 (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Thursday, May 5: TNT (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and TBS (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Friday, May 6: TNT (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and TBS (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Saturday, May 7: ESPN (1:00 p.m.) | TNT (4:30, 7:00, 10:00 p.m.)
• Sunday, May 8: ESPN (12:30 p.m.) | TBS (4:30, 7:00, and 9:30 p.m.)
• Monday, May 9: ESPN (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) | TBS (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Tuesday, May 10: ESPN (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and ESPN2 (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Wednesday, May 11: ESPN (7:00 and 9:30 p.m.) and ESPN2 (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.)
• Thursday, May 12: TNT (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.) and TBS (9:00 p.m.)
• Friday, May 13: TNT (7:30 and 10:00 p.m.) and TBS (9:00 p.m.)
• Saturday, May 14: ESPN (1:00, 3:30, 7:00 p.m.)

Subject to change based on matchups and outcomes of series

Overall, the TV schedule looks a bit different this year. The NHL is bringing back one of the best features of “The Bubble Playoffs” era -– no two games will start at the same time, which means that there should always be NHL action for fans to watch, even when one game is at intermission.

That means that there will be some changes to time slots from past seasons. ESPN games will start at 7:00 p.m. ET (with a second game on ESPN2 30 minutes later), while TNT will start games at 7:00 p.m. ET (with a second game on TBS 30 minutes later).

During the weekend, ESPN will air its afternoon games at 12:30 & 1:00 p.m. ET, while TNT and TBS will air contests starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.

While the schedule may shift slightly due to matchups and how long individual series last, one thing is for sure — for the first two weeks of May, there will be a lot of hockey to tune in to.

Full NHL Playoff TV Schedule

TBD