By Stretch Jenkinson
- ABC Hockey Saturday in Primetime Featuring Eastern Conference Showdown Between Florida Panthers and New York Rangers at 8 p.m. ET
- Toronto Maple Leafs Face Off Against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+/Hulu
- The Point Returns Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+
- 41 NHL Power Play Games Streaming on ESPN+
With only a month remaining in the regular season, the NHL on ESPN features six exclusive matchups starting Tuesday, March 19. The action begins with an ESPN+/Hulu doubleheader as the Metropolitan Division’s second-place Carolina Hurricanes, led by Sebastian Aho, face off against the New York Islanders and Matt Barzal at 7:30 p.m. ET. Following at 10 p.m. ET, the Minnesota Wild and Kirill Kaprizov, sitting just outside a Western Conference wild card position, face the Anaheim Ducks and Frank Vatrano at the Honda Center.
On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+/Hulu, the Nashville Predators, captained by defenseman Roman Josi, aim to continue their 14-game point streak as they face the Florida Panthers and Selke Trophy candidate Aleksander Barkov. Following at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, the Seattle Kraken face the defending 2023 Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights and Jonathan Marchessault, who aim to hold on to their wild card position at T-Mobile Arena.
ABC Hockey Saturday returns in primetime with a highly-contested matchup between the Metropolitan Division’s top-ranked New York Rangers, led by Artemi Panarin, and the Florida Panthers with their team’s points leader Sam Reinhart for their second exclusive matchup this week at 8 p.m. ET.
Closing out the week’s exclusive game lineup on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, the Toronto Maple Leafs led by Hart Trophy candidate Auston Matthews, take on the Carolina Hurricanes and Seth Jarvis in a showdown between likely playoff bound teams.
ESPN’s NHL weekly studio show, The Point, returns Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+ with host John Buccigross alongsidereporter Emily Kaplan as they cover top storylines from around the league, including a deep dive on the teams contending for the final three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, and how a cancelled trip to Vegas turned the Predators season around.
Exclusive NHL games on ESPN and ESPN+/Hulu this week:
| Date | Time (ET) | Platform(s) | Game/Studio Show | ESPN Commentators |
| Tuesday, March 19 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+/Hulu | Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders
The Hurricanes (42-20-6) and Selke Trophy candidate Jordan Staal take on the Islanders (29-23-15) who aim move back into playoff spot contention at UBS Arena. |
Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
Analyst: Kevin Weekes Reporter: Arda Öcal In Studio: John Buccigross, Ryan Callahan |
| 10 p.m. | ESPN+/Hulu | Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks
The Wild (33-27-8) and leading-Calder Trophy candidate, rookie Brock Faber, face the Ducks (23-42-3) for their third and final meeting of the regular season at the Honda Center. |
Play-by-Play: Roxy Bernstein
Analyst: Cassie Campbell-Pascall Reporter: Blake Bolden In Studio: John Buccigross, Ryan Callahan |
|
| Thursday, March 21 | 6 p.m. | ESPN2, ESPN+ | The Point
The Point continues this week with John Buccigross hosting alongside reporter Emily Kaplan as they cover top storylines from around the league, including a recap of the Panthers improbable run last year and how they are becoming the team to beat in the East this year. |
Host: John Buccigross
Reporter: Emily Kaplan |
| 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+/Hulu | Nashville Predators at Florida Panthers
The Predators (39-25-4) and Filip Forsberg, who recently netted his 35th goal of the season, travel to the sunshine state to face the Panthers (45-19-4) and league-leading netminder Anthony Stolarz Amerant Bank Arena. |
Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen
Analyst: Kevin Weekes In Studio: John Buccigross, Emily Kaplan, Arda Öcal |
|
| 10:30 p.m. | ESPN | Seattle Kraken at Vegas Golden Knights
The Kraken (28-26-12) and league third leading goaltender Joey Daccord take on the Golden Knights (36-24-7) and Jack Eichel, who recently made his return to the lineup. |
Play-by-Play: Steve Levy
Analyst: Ryan Callahan Reporter: Blake Bolden In Studio: John Buccigross, Emily Kaplan, Arda Öcal |
|
| Saturday, March 23 | 8 p.m. | ABC, ESPN+ | Florida Panthers at New York Rangers
The Panthers (45-19-4) and defenseman Gustav Forsling, who just signed an eight-year extension, travel south to face the Rangers (45-19-4) and Vincent Trocheck at Madison Square Garden. |
Play-by-Play: Sean McDonough
Analyst: Ray Ferraro Reporter: Emily Kaplan In Studio: Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban, Arda Öcal |
| Sunday, March 24 | 6 p.m. | ESPN+/Hulu | Toronto Maple Leafs at Carolina Hurricanes
The Maple Leafs (38-19-9) with points and assists leader William Nylander, travel across the border to take on the Hurricanes (42-20-6) and defenseman Dmitry Orlov for an Eastern Conference matchup. |
Play-by-Play: Roxy Bernstein
Analyst: Kevin Weekes In Studio: Arda Öcal |
*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+ – available to all ESPN+ subscribers – throughout the season. Included in this week’s highlighted Power Play games are the league-leading Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak hosting the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers and Artemi Panarin for an Eastern Conference showdown at 7 p.m. ET.
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
- Where does Panthers-Lightning land in the ranking of current NHL rivalries? (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- NHL Power Rankings: Panthers remain on top, plus each team’s pivotal player down the stretch
- Welcome to the NHL rookie experience: How this season’s class has navigated life on and off the ice
- How the NHL trade deadline impacts the playoffs, draft lottery for all 32 teams (ESPN+ Premium Content)
- NHL Playoff Watch
- Thursday: How the Predators turned their season around
- Friday: Updated NHL Power Rankings
COURTESY NHL MEDIA.COM
