Hockey nights, east to west
Puck drop for most NHL games is early evening in the arena's city. On a full night the eastern rinks go first, the middle of the continent follows, and the Pacific teams start around 10:00 PM ET. Weekends mix in afternoon games, and Saturday night in Canada belongs to Hockey Night in Canada. Every start here shows in the time zone set on your device.
84 games from 2026-27
The 2026-27 season is the first with 84 regular-season games per team, up from 82, under the deal the league and its players signed in 2025. The regular season runs October to April. Sixteen teams make the playoffs and play four rounds, each a best-of-seven, and the Stanley Cup is handed out in June.
Special games are listed alongside the rest: the outdoor Winter Classic near New Year's Day, the Stadium Series in football and baseball venues, and Global Series games in Europe, which start in the US morning.
Who broadcasts the NHL
US national rights are split between the ESPN family (ESPN, ABC and ESPN+) and the TNT family (TNT, HBO Max and truTV). Plenty of out-of-market games are on ESPN+ as well. Regional channels, and in some cities free local stations, cover the rest. In Canada the national rights belong to Sportsnet, and Sportsnet+ streams them.
Cross-border games often have three feeds at once, so a game page here can show three links for one game.
The cheapest official route in the US is ESPN+, and ABC games cost nothing with an antenna. Before you pay for anything, check whether your team has moved its local games to a free station, as several have.
Overtime
In the regular season a tie means five minutes of three-on-three, then a shootout. In the playoffs teams play full 20-minute periods until someone scores, with no shootout, so a long playoff game can stay marked LIVE here well into the night.
Using the list
Yesterday, today and tomorrow are listed. Games under way show the score and period at the head of that day. Links normally appear about an hour before puck drop. Read our NHL viewing guide or the buffering checklist if a stream misbehaves.
