ESPN, Turner Sports To Drop the Puck in October To Begin Special NHL Seasons By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, September 16, 2021 - 2:49 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The upcoming NHL schedule begins next month, and it'll be a special occasion for ESPN, who hasn't televised professional hockey since 2004, and Turner Sports, who will embark on their inaugural season. For the former, a season-opening doubleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 12 will pit the Pittsburgh Penguins against the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 p.m. ET and the first-year Seattle Kraken against the Vegas Golden Knights at 10 p.m. ET. The latter will start the following day, Wednesday, Oct. 13, with a doubleheader of their own including the New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Colorado Avalanche vs. Chicago Blackhawks at 10 p.m. ET.
ESPN Welcomes Back the NHL After 17 Years The 2021-2022 season will showcase 103 exclusive regular season games across ESPN, ESPN , Hulu and ABC. In addition, more than 1,000 out-of-market games will be available on ESPN . Beginning October 12, ESPN, ESPN and Hulu become the destination for Tuesday night hockey throughout the regular season. ESPN and Hulu will also showcase an exclusive game every Friday night until January, then every Thursday night for the remainder of the regular season. ABC will regularly carry Saturday games beginning in February.
Opening week on ESPN will feature the Minnesota Wild taking on the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, October 15. Momentum continues into the second week of the season beginning Tuesday, October 19, when the Colorado Avalanche and former first overall pick Nathan MacKinnon travel to the nation's capital to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. On Friday, October 22, the Boston Bruins will travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres in a divisional matchup. A historic Saturday night in Seattle caps off the second week of the regular season on ESPN and Hulu when the Seattle Kraken take the ice in Climate Pledge Arena for the first time in franchise history against their border rivals, the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, October 23.
Each Tuesday in 2021, October 19 through December 28, ESPN will host at least one exclusive matchup with highlights including the Tampa Bay Lightning versus the St. Louis Blues on November 30, the New York Rangers versus the Colorado Avalanche on December 14, the Washington Capitals versus the Philadelphia Flyers on December 21 and the 2021 Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 28.
Additional Friday game highlights include the Colorado Avalanche versus the Seattle Kraken on November 19, the New York Rangers versus the Boston Bruins on November 26 and a Sidney Crosby-Alex Ovechkin matchup on December 10 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
ESPN continues its premier slate in 2022 with Tuesday and Thursday night matchups through the remainder of the 2021-22 regular season. Highlights include: Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, January 4, Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, January 6, Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins on Thursday, January 20, Minnesota Wild at Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, March 8, and the new-look Florida Panthers with Joe Thornton take on the San Jose Sharks on March 15 as Thornton returns to San Jose after spending 15 seasons as a Shark. In a Thursday night doubleheader on March 24, the St. Louis Blues host the Philadelphia Flyers, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks taking on the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center.
In April, ESPN will feature the following match ups: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers on Thursday, April 7, the Boston Bruins at St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, April 19, the Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, April 25, as the only NHL game that day, and a Connor McDavid-Sidney Crosby showdown between the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, April 26. The final game of the ESPN schedule will feature the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning taking on the New York Islanders on Thursday, April 28, in a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals.
Click HERE for a full list of exclusive games being played on ESPN and Hulu.
TNT Gets Set for First Hockey Foray The NHL on TNT's weekly schedule will include exclusive coverage on 25 Wednesday nights throughout the season - including 15 doubleheaders. Starting in Spring 2022, the network will add seven weeks of Sunday afternoon telecasts for March and April.
TNT will be the home of the NHL's marquee outdoor games this season:
The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic will showcase the St. Louis Blues against the Minnesota Wild at Target Field - home of the Minnesota Twins - on Saturday, Jan. 1. The event will continue the tradition first established in 2008 of hosting regular season outdoor games at the start of the New Year. The start time of the game will be announced at a later date.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will visit the Nashville Predators in the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m. This year's outdoor game will be played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, home of the Tennessee Titans.
The 2022 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic will return this season on Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m. Emanating from Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, the outdoor game will feature two teams making their first appearances: Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Buffalo Sabres, who are also the first non-Canadian team to participate in the event.
Overall, the network will showcase many of the top teams and leading NHL stars, including six appearances by the Oilers and five appearances by the Avalanche, Blues, Brui
North America Stories
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
25/03/2026
Live match directors Sarah Cheadle (Sky Sports), Rob Levi (TNT Sports), and Andrew Swift (BBC Sport) sit down with the Premier League's Rachel Nightingale t...
25/03/2026
The senior from Upstate New York is manning the mic while also interning for the athletic department's sports-information team
In the live-sports-video ind...
25/03/2026
Synamedia has announced ContentArmor Edge Watermarking, a server-side solution t...
25/03/2026
SES has announced meoSphere, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network targeted for operation by 2030. The first phase will pair SES-developed software-defin...
25/03/2026
TVU Networks is working with Reuters on a phased migration from satellite to a c...
25/03/2026
Nielsen has announced three senior appointments. Seth Ladetsky has been named Head of Global Sports. Trevor Fellows will lead Nielsen's advertiser and agenc...
25/03/2026
Anoki and Amagi have launched In-Scene Ads powered by Anoki ContextIQ across Amagi's portfolio of in-content ad formats for Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (...
25/03/2026
Arkona Technologies will announce a series of enhancements to its BLADE//runner platform at NAB 2026 (Booth C.1808). The updates focus on usability and workflow...
25/03/2026
Daktronics has installed two tower displays and a video wall in the Lexus Club at Petco Park in San Diego ahead of the 2026 season.
Continuing to improve the ...
25/03/2026
MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems is celebrating its 50th anniversary as NAB Show 2026 approaches. The company was founded in 1976 by Vincent Jachetta, an N...
25/03/2026
IPC, a provider of integrated communication solutions, will make its NAB 2026 de...
25/03/2026
Live production categories were led by NBC, FOX, and ESPN's NFL coverage...
25/03/2026
The Atlanta Braves and Spectrum have announced a multiyear distribution agreemen...
25/03/2026
(L-R) Charlie Tyrell and Daniel Roher attend The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre ...
25/03/2026
L3Harris Technologies and RFTEQ Pty Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding to ...
25/03/2026
L3Harris delivers combat-ready Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery system, which deploys and retrieves Iver4 900 autonomous underwater vehicles through submarine t...
25/03/2026
The company expands leadership team under Chief Revenue Officer Amilcar Perez
S...
ESPN, Turner Sports To Drop the Puck in October To Begin Special NHL Seasons By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
