The 2021 NHL season starts tonight when the Pittsburg Penguins face off against the Philadelphia Flyers at 5:30 p.m. However, there are 4 other games being played on NHL’s opening night and I’m going to tell you how to watch each one.
NHL Opening Night Schedule
Below is the schedule for the 5 NHL games being played tonight. I’ll explain how to watch each game. If you want a comprehensive guide on watching NHL games all season long check out our guide: How To Watch NHL Games without Cable.
| Game | Time (ET) | National TV |
|---|---|---|
| Penguins Vs Flyers | 5:30:00 PM | NBCSN |
| Canadiens Vs Maple Leafs | 7:00:00 PM | Sportsnet (Canada) |
| Blackhawks Vs Lightning | 8:00:00 PM | NBCSN |
| Canucks Vs Oilers | 10:00:00 PM | TVA Sports (Canada) |
| Blues Vs Avalanche | 10:30:00 PM | NBCSN |
In the U.S., 3 of tonight’s games will all air on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). If you don’t have NBCSN or a cable provider that offers NBCSN, don’t worry. There are plenty of streaming services that stream NBCSN Live. The ones below all have free trials, so you can watch the Penguins play the Flyers, the Blackhawks play the Lightning, and the Blues blues play the Avalanche free.
- Sling TV – offers a 3-day free trial
- FuboTV – offers a 1-week free trial.
- Hulu Live TV – offers a 1-week free trial
- YouTube TV – offers a 1-week free trial
Just be sure you cancel before the trial is up. Otherwise, you will be charged for your first month of service. If you do decide to keep the service, you can cancel at any time. There is no long term contract.
Those games may be blacked out if you live in the TV market of one of the teams playing. If that’s the case, then the game will air on your local, regional sports network (RSN). For the teams playing tonight
The Flyers air locally on NBC Sports Philadelphia, which is carried on Hulu and FuboTV, so fans in Philadelphia can grab the free trial to Hulu and watch the Flyers on their RSN, and the other 2 games on NBCSN
The Penguins air locally on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, which is carried on FuboTV, so fans in Pittsburgh can grab the free trial and watch the Penguins on their RSN, and the other 2 games on NBCSN
The air locally on NBC Sports Chicago which is carried on Hulu and FuboTV, so fans in the Chicago area can grab the free trial to Hulu and watch the Blackhawks on their RSN, and the other 2 games on NBCSN
The Lightning, Avs, and Blues, however, air on RSNs that are only carries by AT&T TV. Unfortunately, they do not offer a free trial, but they also carry NBCSN, so you can still watch all the games. The RSN for each of those teams is listed below.
- Fox Sports Sun – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Altitude – Colorado Avalanche
- Fox Sports Midwest – St. Louis Blues
Games Airing In Canada
The other two games tonight, Canadiens Vs. Maple Leafs and Canucks Vs. Oilers will only air nationally in Canada. If you live in the U.S., you can watch those games if you subscribe to NHL.TV. This will give you access to all games played all season long as long as they aren’t airing nationally on your local, regional sports network. In those cases, they are blacked out on NHL.TV. Check out our guide to watching every NHL game for more information on NHL.TV
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