How To Watch The Stanley Cup Finals

The 2023 battle for the Stanley Cup is here. The Golden Knights will face off against the Panthers in a best-of-seven series, with all games airing on TNT. Sling TV is the cheapest streaming service that streams TNT. However, DIRECTV STREAM and YouTube TV provide a free trial. Hulu Live TV also has TNT. Read on for all your options for watching the Stanley Cup Finals.

Stanley Cup TV Schedule

You can watch any of the channels airing NHL Playoff games in the table below with a 5-Day Free Trial to DIRECTV STREAM. However, if you want the most affordable way to watch, I recommend signing up for Sling’s Orange plan. If you live in an area where Sling doesn’t offer ABC, you could try this $25 Flat TV antenna and watch ABC for free.

Cheapest Way to Watch the NHL Playoffs

The cheapest way to watch every game of the NHL Post-Season is with Sling TV (sign up here and watch now). TNT, TBS, ESPN, and ESPN2 are in their “Orange Plan” for $20 your first month ($40/mo after that). You even have access to ABC if you live in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Fresno, Houston, and Raleigh. If you live outside those areas, you can watch games on ABC for free using a TV antenna. I recommend trying this $25 Flat TV antenna, as it’s free to return if you have trouble getting ABC in your area. If you want a deeper dive into Sling or TV antennas, see either of the following guides:

• Sling TV Review
• How To Use a TV Antenna

Watch Every Team In The NHL Playoffs

A total of 16 NHL teams will battle it out over the next two months in best of 7 series for the right to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup over their head this year. I’ve listed each below and linked the teams to my guide for watching each team in the postseason.

Eastern Conference

1. Boston Bruins – Eliminated by Panthers in Round 1
2. Carolina Hurricanes – Eliminated by Panthers in Conference Finals
3. Toronto Maple Leafs – Eliminated by Panthers in Round 2
4. New Jersey Devils – Eliminated by Hurricanes in Round 2
5. Tampa Bay Lightning – Eliminated by Leafs in Round 1
6. New York Rangers – Eliminated by Devils in Round 1
7. New York Islanders – Eliminated by Hurricanes in Round 1
8. Florida Panthers

Western Conference

1. Vegas Golden Knights
2. Colorado Avalanche – Eliminated by Kraken in Round 1
3. Edmonton Oilers – Eliminated by Knights in Round 2
4. Dallas Stars – Eliminated by Knights in Conference Finals
5. Los Angeles Kings – Eliminated by Oilers in Round 1
6. Minnesota Wild – Eliminated by Stars in Round 1
7. Seattle Kraken – Eliminated by Stars in Round 2
8. Winnipeg Jets – Eliminated by Knights in Round 1

Where You Can Watch The NHL Playoffs

NHL Playoff games will air on  ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS. The streaming services below have those networks, so you can watch live.

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM is a streaming powerhouse for NHL fans. Their “Entertainment” package for $74.99 per month includes ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS along with other local broadcast networks like Fox, NBC, and CBS.

DIRECTV STREAM Entertainment Plan Deal: Currently DIRECTV STREAM provides a 5-day free trial for their "Entertaiment" Channel Plan. After the trial, the service costs $74.99 per month after. You can sign up on the DIRECTV STREAM website.

All DIRECTV STREAM plans include:

• TNT, ABC, ESPN, local channels, and more
• the ability to watch on three devices at the same time 
• a cloud DVR
• The DIRECTV STREAM app is available on major platforms, including Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV. 

Check out our review of DIRECTV STREAM for more details.

Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV has ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS. A Subscription to Hulu + Live TV includes:

• Unlimited cloud DVR storage. (Recordings save for nine months)
• Watch on two screens at once. (Upgrades available)
• It comes with six customizable profiles
• Includes entire Hulu streaming library

Hulu + Live TV is supported on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, Android, and more. You can read more about Hulu in our review of Hulu. There isn’t a month-to-month contract so you can sign up to test the service without fear of a long-term commitment. You can sign up for Hulu Live TV using this link: Sign up for a Free-Trial to Hulu + Live TV. After the free trial, the base package starts at $69.99 per month.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is another excellent option to watch the NHL playoffs on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS. YouTube TV offers both channels with its streaming service in all markets in the US. YouTube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more.

YouTube TV provides:

• TNT, TBS, ESPN, ESPN2, and over 70 other channels
• unlimited cloud DVR storage
• stream on three devices at once
• YouTube TV supports Roku, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more.
• Includes YouTube TV on-demand
• YouTube TV provides a 1-week free trial. After the trial, YouTube TV is $72.99 per month.

Check our review of YouTube TV for more details.

Watch the NHL Playoffs Free

Links are below to all the streaming services that carry ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS and have a way you can watch free through a trial period:

• DIRECTV STREAM – ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS are available on DIRECTV STREAM’s “Entertainment” package for $74.99. They have a 5-day free trial.
• YouTube TV – ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, and TBS are available, and they have a free trial