NHL national television schedule announced for 2025-26 season

A total of 172 regular-season NHL games will be broadcast nationally across ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and TNT Sports, starting with an ESPN Opening Night Tripleheader on Oct. 7 and a doubleheader on TNT the next night.

The national schedule for ABC, ESPN, ESPN+ and Hulu will feature 100 games, including all 32 teams in action Oct. 28 as part of the "NHL Frozen Frenzy," and the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning outdoors in Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 1.

In addition to all games streaming live on the ESPN App via ESPN DTC or Pay TV Subscription and more than 1,050 out-of-market games available on NHL Power Play on the ESPN App, the Stanley Cup Final returns exclusively to the Walt Disney Company this season.

The "NHL on TNT" regular-season schedule will have coverage on 14 Tuesday and 21 Wednesday nights throughout the season as well as the annual Thanksgiving Showdown on Black Friday, Nov. 28, with the New York Rangers visiting the Boston Bruins at 1 p.m. ET, and Sunday afternoon games starting in March.

TNT will again be the exclusive home of the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, when the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers host the Rangers outdoors in Miami.

Click here for ABC, ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu schedule.

Click here for NHL on TNT schedule.

ESPN’s NHL studio show, "The Point," will premiere Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+, ahead of ESPN’s season-opening tripleheader, and will be presented weekly this fall on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The ESPN Opening Night Tripleheader begins at 5 p.m. ET when Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Panthers, who will raise their championship banner at Amerant Bank Arena.

At 8 p.m., Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins face off against former coach Mike Sullivan, now the coach of the Rangers, in a Metropolitan Division matchup at Madison Square Garden. It concludes at 10:30 p.m., with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche facing Quinton Byfield, Corey Perry and the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.

The TNT doubleheader the next night will see Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer, and the Washington Capitals hosting David Pastrnak and the Bruins at Capital One Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then at 10 p.m., Mitch Marner will make his Vegas Golden Knights debut against the Kings at T-Mobile Arena.

Other highlights of the national schedule include:

• Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, and the Edmonton Oilers taking on the New York Islanders, who selected Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick at the 2025 NHL Draft, on Oct. 16 (ESPN+/Hulu).

• Former Bruins captain Brad Marchand making his return to TD Garden in Boston with the Panthers on Oct. 21 (ESPN).

• The 2025-26 season will mark the centennial for the Blackhawks and Rangers, and the two will go head-to-head Dec. 10 for an epic matchup of two storied Original Six franchises (TNT).

• Two days before Christmas, TNT will present a blockbuster tripleheader Dec. 23, starting at 4 p.m. ET with the Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs, then the Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings and concluding with the Philadelphia Flyers at the Blackhawks.

• Following the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, NHL action returns with an ESPN doubleheader Feb. 26 featuring the Flyers and Rangers, followed by the Oilers and Kings in a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference First Round.

• The NHL on TNT concludes the regular season April 15 at 7 p.m. ET with a Red Wings vs. Panthers matchup, when Dylan Larkin and Patrick Kane of Detroit face off against the reigning champions in South Florida.