NHL News: The Walt Disney Company Announces 103 Exclusive National Hockey League Games Across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC Beginning Oct. 11

ESPN

September 7, 2022

ESPN Schedule
  • Opening Night Doubleheader on ESPN: Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings
  • 2023 NHL All-Star Skills on ESPN and NHL All-Star Game on ABC and ESPN+ February 3-4
  • 2023 NHL Stadium Series Debuts on ESPN and ESPN+: Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes, February 18
  • 1050+ Out-of-Market Games Available on ESPN+ Throughout the Season

Following last year’s historic return of the National Hockey League (NHL) after a near-20-year hiatus, The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) today announced 103 exclusive games across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC for the upcoming 2022-23 season.

The season begins in North America on Tuesday, October 11, in an ESPN doubleheader showcasing a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final with the Tampa Bay Lightning visiting the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden and the Los Angeles Kings hosting the Vegas Golden Knights at Crypto.com Arena. The top eastern conference teams from last season faceoff again when Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers host the Lightning and fellow elite goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for the season’s opening puckdrop at 7:30 p.m. ET. Following at 10 p.m. ET, the Golden Knights and Jack Eichel – in his first season-opening game for the club – take aim at the Kings and newly-acquired forward Kevin Fiala – coming off a career-high in points last season – in a compelling Pacific Division matchup. Both games will be simulcast on ESPN+.

NHL All-Star Weekend and Stadium Series

The league’s regular-season schedule takes a break when the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend returns with the world’s best players at Florida’s FLA Live Arena to compete in the NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings competition February 3 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and the 2023 NHL Honda All-Star Game on February 4 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+.

The 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series makes its ESPN debut on February 18 at 8 p.m. ET with last year’s Metropolitan Division-winning Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin outdoors at NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. The game will also be simulcast on ESPN+.

NHL Out-of-Market Games on ESPN+

In addition to 103 exclusive games across TWDC networks and platforms, more than 1,050 out-of-market games will be available on ESPN+ throughout the season. To sign up, visit ESPNPlus.com.

Exclusive Game Highlights:

  • Oct. 13 – New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers – Coach John Tortorella makes Flyers coaching debut in Philadelphia home opener (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Oct. 21 – Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers – Last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners and Matthew Tkachuk host last season’s eastern conference champs in the Battle of Florida (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Oct. 28 – Winnipeg Jets at Arizona Coyotes – Coyotes host the Winnipeg Jets in their home opener at the new Mullett Arena (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Nov. 3 – Boston Bruins at New York Rangers – Original Six matchup (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Dec. 6 – Toronto Maple Leafs at Dallas Stars – Interconference matchup between last season’s Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews and rising star Jason Robertson (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Jan. 12 – Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings – Original Six matchup (ESPN)
  • Jan. 13 – New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks – Rising stars Jack Hughes vs. Trevor Zegras (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Jan. 23 – Columbus Blue Jackets at Calgary Flames – Johnny Gaudreau returns to Calgary to face his former team (ESPN+/Hulu)
  • Feb. 9 – Colorado Avalanche at Tampa Bay Lightning – The Lightning host the Avalanche in a rematch of last season’s Stanley Cup Final (ESPN)
  • Feb. 11 – ABC Saturday Doubleheader: Lightning at Stars & Capitals at Bruins – (ABC and ESPN+)
  • Feb. 18 – 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series – Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes (ESPN)
  • March 4 – ABC Saturday Doubleheader: Rangers at Bruins (Original Six) & Avalanche at Stars (ABC and ESPN+)
  • March 11 – ABC Saturday Doubleheader: Red Wings at Bruins (Original Six) & Flyers at Penguins in the Battle of Pennsylvania (ABC and ESPN+)
  • March 18 – ABC Primetime: Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers in a 1st round playoff rematch from last season (ABC and ESPN+)
  • March 25 – ABC Primetime: Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin visit Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (ABC and ESPN+)
  • April 4 – Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings in a 1st round playoff rematch from last season (ESPN)
  • April 8 – ABC Tripleheader: Blues at Wild in a 1st round playoff rematch from last season & Golden Knights at Stars. Penguins at Red Wings in primetime to close out the final ABC Saturday of the regular season. (ABC and ESPN+)
  • April 11 – Maple Leafs at Lightning in a 1st round playoff rematch from last season (ESPN)
  • April 11 –Oilers at Avalanche in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Final (ESPN)
  • April 13 – ESPN Doubleheader: Final night of regular season play with the Blues at Stars & Golden Knights at Kraken (ESPN)

TWDC 2022-23 NHL Game Schedule:

About ESPN

ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavours on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 22.8 million subscribers. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $9.99 a month (or $99.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices).

About Hulu

Hulu is the leading and most comprehensive all-in-one premium streaming service that offers an expansive slate of live and on-demand entertainment, both in and outside of the home, through a wide array of subscription options that give consumers ultimate control over their viewing experience. As part of Disney’s Media & Entertainment Distribution segment, Hulu is the only on-demand offering that provides access to shows from every major U.S. broadcast network, libraries of hit TV series and films – including licensed content available exclusively on Hulu – and award-winning Hulu Originals, both with and without commercials. With Hulu + Live TV, subscribers receive a unique combination of access to 80+ live news, entertainment and sports TV channels from 20th Television, The Walt Disney Company, ABC, NBCUniversal, CBS Corporation, The CW, Turner Networks, A+E Networks and Discovery Networks, as well as Disney+ and ESPN+ included as part of the base plan. Visit hulu.com to subscribe or learn more about the service.

COURTESY NHLmedia.com

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