By StephanieLee Elliott
ESPN
- New-look Nashville Predators Open Season at Tampa Bay Lightning at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+
- Chicago Blackhawks’ #1 Overall Pick Connor Bedard: Mic’d Up and Makes NHL Debut Against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+
- Seattle Kraken Visit Defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET
- The Point Returns Tuesday Ahead of Opening Night Tripleheader at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+
- Opening Week Exclusive Game Action continues on ESPN+/Hulu with the Detroit Red Wings at New Jersey Devils on October 12 and Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals on October 13
- 30 NHL Power Play Games Streaming on ESPN+ This Week Featuring The Blackhawks and Connor Bedard’s Rookie Season
The puck drops on the NHL 2023-24 season on Tuesday, with an opening night tripleheader Face-Off, exclusively on ESPN and ESPN+.
The new-look Nashville Predators, with newcomer Ryan O’Reilly, new head coach Andrew Brunette and veteran defenseman Roman Josi begin the season hosted by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Brayden Point and 100-plus point scorer Nikita Kucherov at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.
The highly-anticipated debut of 2023 number-one draft pick Connor Bedard, and the Chicago Blackhawks’ season opener continues in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+ from PPG Paints Arena against another former number-one pick, Sidney Crosby, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who also added the defending Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson this offseason. Newcomer Bedard will also be mic’d up during the opening night face-off.
Following at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+, the Seattle Kraken, who fell one game short of making the 2023 Western Conference Final in just its second year as a franchise, face off against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knightsand Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel in a Pacific Division season opener. Prior to the game, the Golden Knights will see their first championship banner raised at T-Mobile Arena during the Stanley Cup banner ceremony.
ESPN’s NHL studio show, The Point, returns Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+, ahead of the season-opening tripleheader. The weekly studio show will again surround ESPN’s live coverage of NHL games, including in-depth analysis of key matchups, league trends, dynamic feature stories and hockey lifestyle coverage. Steve Levy hosts this week’s show and will be joined by analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban. See an exclusive sit down with Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard to discuss the pressure of expectations and what it will be like to face off against each other in Bedard’s first NHL game. Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel talks about his extraordinary journey from Buffalo to Vegas to becoming a Stanley Cup Champion. All episodes of The Point will be simulcast live on ESPN+ and will be available for on-demand replay.
Exclusive NHL games on ESPN and ESPN+/Hulu this week:
|
Date |
Time (ET) |
Platform(s) |
Game/Studio Show |
ESPN Commentators |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 10 |
5 p.m. |
ESPN, ESPN+ |
The Point ESPN’s flagship NHL studio show makes its season debut at 5 p.m. ET as the preview show and entry point into the 2023-24 NHL season ahead of the opening night Face-Off tripleheader. Highlights include a Crosby-Bedard feature, and Eichel’s journey to becoming a Stanley Cup Champion. |
Host: Steve Levy
Analysts: Mark Messier, P.K. Subban |
|
5:30 p.m. |
ESPN, ESPN+ |
Nashville Predators at Tampa Bay Lightning With new coach Andrew Brunette, newly added center Ryan O’Reilly and defenseman Luke Schenn, the revamped Predators (0-0-0) travel to Amalie Arena to face Steven Stamkos and the Lightning (0-0-0), who are without All-Star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy following back surgery expected to keep him out the first two months of the season. |
Play-by-Play: John Buccigross
Analysts: Kevin Weekes, Ryan Callahan
In Studio: Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban |
|
|
8 p.m. |
ESPN, ESPN+ |
Chicago Blackhawks at Pittsburgh Penguins The Blackhawks (0-0-0) and 2023 number-one draft pick Connor Bedard take on the Penguins (0-0-0) with new GM and President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas at the helm, and newly acquired Erik Karlsson to complement the veteran core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. |
Play-by-Play: Sean McDonough
Analyst: Ray Ferraro
Reporter: Emily Kaplan
In Studio: Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban |
|
|
10:30 p.m. |
ESPN, ESPN+ |
Seattle Kraken at Vegas Golden Knights The Kraken (0-0-0) and Matty Beniers start their season campaign in a Pacific Division matchup in Vegas as they face the defending Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights (0-0-0), after defeating the 2022 champs, the Colorado Avalanche, last season for their first playoff series win in only their second year as a franchise. Coach Bruce Cassidy will be mic’d up for the evening’s matchup. |
Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
Analyst: AJ Mleczko
Reporter: Leah Hextall
In Studio: Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban |
|
|
Thursday, Oct. 12 |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN+/Hulu |
Detroit Red Wings at New Jersey Devils Newly acquired scoring winger Alex DeBrincatdebuts with the Red Wings (0-0-0) when they take on the Devils (0-0-0), Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli, who joins the team via trade after leading the Calgary Flames with 34 goals last season. |
Play-by-Play: Mike Monaco
Analyst: Kevin Weekes
Reporter: Emily Kaplan
In Studio: John Buccigross, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban, Arda Öcal |
|
Friday, Oct. 13 |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPN+/Hulu |
Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals The Capitals (0-0-0) host the Penguins (0-0-0) in their home opener with veteran Metro Division stars, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby going head to head at Capital One Arena. |
Play-by-Play: Steve Levy
Analyst: Ray Ferraro
Reporter: Emily Kaplan
In Studio: John Buccigross, Kevin Weekes |
* Please note commentator assignments may be subject to change.
NHL Power Play on ESPN+ (Out-of-Market Games on ESPN+)
In addition to 50 exclusive games on ESPN+/Hulu, more than 1,050 out-of-market games will be available through NHL Power Play on ESPN+ – included in the base ESPN+ subscription – throughout the season. Catch the Blackhawks and Connor Bedard’s rookie season this week and all season through NHL Power Play on ESPN+.
NHL Power Play games include the choice of two separate live streams with either home team or away team commentary, as well as Canadian national presentations of Hockey Night in Canada, providing a local experience for fans no matter where they are in the U.S. Replays of every NHL regular season and playoff game on ABC, ESPN, NHL Network, and TNT are also made available to stream on NHL Power Play on ESPN+. To sign up, visit ESPNPlus.com.
NHL Digital Content on ESPN.com and ESPN App
Go to ESPN.com/NHL or the ESPN App for up-to-the-minute NHL news, information and analysis, including premium editorial content by ESPN senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski, exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers.
- How to watch NHL games on ESPN, ESPN+, ABC and Hulu
- Wyshynski’s fantasy hockey cheat sheet for 2023-24 (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- Future Power Rankings: Predicting best, worst teams for the next three seasons (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- NHL playoff team switches: Who’s falling out, who’s jumping in? (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- Goalie tandem rankings: Why the Bruins hold down the top spot (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- Predicting every NHL team’s finish this season (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- Lapsed fans’ guide to the 2023-24 NHL season
- NHL season preview: Power Rankings, X factors, bold predictions
- Tuesday: Expert picks for the 2023-24 season
- Tuesday: What to watch on NHL opening night
COURTESY NHLmedia.com
