Following your favorite NHL team should be simple: find the puck drop, turn on the game, and watch. Hockey fans know it does not always work that way. One game can be nationally televised, the next can fall under a regional broadcast, and another can be unavailable because you happen to live on the wrong side of an NHL broadcast boundary. That is especially frustrating in a league with fans spread across the United States, Canada, and the rest of the world. The service you need to watch the Rangers in New York is not necessarily the same one you need to follow them from Tennessee, Toronto, or London.
A VPN can help when location is part of the problem. By connecting through a VPN server, you can change the IP location websites and streaming services see, which can be useful for NHL fans dealing with regional restrictions or trying to use their usual streaming options while traveling. Want to get set up before puck drop? Try ExpressVPN for NHL streaming.
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Already know what is keeping you from the game? Jump to our NHL blackout and VPN method.
Where to Watch NHL Games in 2026–27
There is no single answer to “Where can I watch the NHL?” That is one of the biggest differences between following hockey and following some other major sports. Your options depend on where you live, which team you follow, whether the game is national or regional, and sometimes the particular matchup. Here is the basic picture for 2026–27:
| Location | Main NHL Viewing Options |
|---|---|
| United States | ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu, TNT/HBO Max, NHL Power Play and local/regional broadcasters |
| Canada | Sportsnet/Sportsnet+, Prime Video, TVA Sports and regional broadcasters |
| U.S. out-of-market | NHL Power Play on the ESPN App and NHL Center Ice |
| Canada out-of-market | Sportsnet+ and NHL Centre Ice |
| International | NHL.TV on DAZN in supported territories and country-specific broadcasters |
The good news is that once you understand whether a game is national, local, or out-of-market, finding it becomes considerably easier.
How to Watch NHL Games in the United States
American hockey fans have plenty of NHL coverage in 2026–27, but that coverage is spread across national broadcasters, streaming services, and local rights holders. ESPN’s national package includes 100 exclusive regular-season games this season. Of those, 53 are scheduled for ESPN or ABC and another 47 are available through ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu. TNT Sports has a separate national package of 72 regular-season games.
For fans who live outside their favorite team’s local market, NHL Power Play on the ESPN App is one of the most important options. ESPN says more than 1,050 out-of-market games will be available through NHL Power Play during the 2026–27 season.
That means a Bruins fan living far outside New England, for example, may have a much easier time following Boston through an out-of-market package than someone physically located inside the Bruins’ local broadcast territory. It sounds backwards until you understand how NHL regional rights work.
Local games are the other piece of the puzzle. NHL teams have their own local broadcast arrangements, so there is no single regional network that covers all 32 clubs. If you live inside your team’s market, check its local broadcast information before assuming an out-of-market service will carry the game.
How to Watch NHL Games in Canada
Canada deserves its own section because the viewing situation is fundamentally different from the United States. For 2026–27, Sportsnet is the NHL’s primary national English-language partner in Canada, with games available across Sportsnet networks and Sportsnet+. Prime Video also carries NHL coverage, while TVA Sports provides French-language coverage.
Sportsnet has significantly expanded its NHL schedule for 2026–27. The network announced more than 550 games and says the new arrangement removes 150 regional blackouts compared with the previous season. That is a meaningful improvement for Canadian fans, but it does not mean every regional restriction has disappeared.
Regional games can still depend on where you are physically located. A Canucks fan in British Columbia, for example, can face a different set of viewing rules than a Canucks fan elsewhere in Canada. The same basic issue applies to other Canadian clubs with designated regional territories.
For out-of-market regional games in Canada, the NHL currently directs viewers toward Sportsnet+ and NHL Centre Ice. If you are following a Canadian team from outside its home region, it is worth checking whether the game is national or regional before deciding which service you need.
How to Watch NHL Games Internationally
International NHL fans have a different setup again. In many supported countries and territories, NHL.TV is now available through DAZN for the 2026–27 season. The NHL also works with broadcasters in individual countries, so your local options can vary considerably depending on where you live.
This is one reason we do not recommend assuming that a streaming method that works in the United States or Canada will work everywhere else. International rights are their own part of the NHL broadcasting picture. If NHL.TV is your main way of following hockey, we cover the service, supported locations, VPN setup, and international viewing in much more detail in our NHL.TV VPN guide.
Why Are NHL Games Blacked Out?
This is the part of watching hockey that can make even longtime fans want to throw something at the television. An NHL blackout generally happens because the rights to show a particular game are limited by geography. The NHL and its broadcast partners distinguish between national broadcasts, regional broadcasts, and out-of-market coverage. Your physical location can therefore affect which version of a game you are allowed to stream—or whether that particular service can show it to you at all.
The easiest way to understand it is to think about who owns the rights to the game where you are watching. Suppose you follow the Nashville Predators. A fan living inside the Predators’ local broadcast territory may be expected to use the local broadcaster for a regional game. A Predators fan living hundreds of miles outside that territory may instead qualify for the out-of-market stream. Someone traveling overseas could face an entirely different set of rights and services. The puck, teams, and game have not changed. The viewer’s location has.
Local NHL Blackouts vs. Out-of-Market Games
This distinction causes a lot of confusion. If you are inside a team’s local market, an out-of-market streaming package may not carry that team’s regional broadcast because a local broadcaster holds the applicable rights. If you are outside the team’s market, that same game may be available through an out-of-market service such as NHL Power Play in the United States.
National games work differently again. When ESPN, ABC, TNT, Sportsnet, or another national partner has a game, the national broadcast arrangement can determine where you need to watch. Before troubleshooting a blackout, I recommend checking whether the game is supposed to be local, national, or out-of-market. It can save a lot of unnecessary server switching.
How to Get Around NHL Blackouts with a VPN
A VPN changes the IP address and apparent location that a streaming service sees when you connect to the internet. Because NHL availability can be determined partly by location, changing that location can sometimes help when a regional restriction is preventing you from seeing a game.
Our basic NHL VPN method is:
- Choose a VPN with servers in multiple U.S., Canadian, and international locations. We use ExpressVPN because its server coverage gives hockey fans plenty of location choices.
- Install the VPN on your streaming device. You can use a computer, phone, tablet, compatible streaming device, or a VPN-enabled router for devices that do not support a VPN app directly.
- Connect to a server outside the affected blackout region. The best location depends on the game and streaming service rather than one universal “NHL server.”
- Open your streaming service and sign in. Use the service or subscription that carries the game in the region you are connecting through.
- Check the game again. If it remains unavailable, verify that you are using the correct broadcaster and try another appropriate server location.
The key is that a VPN does not magically put every NHL game onto one service. You still need a streaming service that actually carries the game. The VPN changes the location associated with your connection, which can be useful when geography is the part keeping you from the stream.
What VPN Location Should I Use for an NHL Blackout?
There is no single answer, and I would be suspicious of any guide that tells every NHL fan to connect to the same country or city. If a regional blackout is the issue, the goal is generally to connect from outside the affected local market while remaining in an area where your chosen service offers the game. For an American out-of-market service, that could mean another U.S. location. For a Canadian service, the correct choice can depend on the team’s regional territory and the rights attached to that particular broadcast. Internationally, the situation changes again because NHL.TV and local broadcast agreements vary by country. The right way to approach NHL blackouts is therefore game + broadcaster + location, not simply “connect to Canada” or “connect to the United States.”
Why We Use ExpressVPN for NHL Games
Live hockey is not the place where I want a VPN struggling to keep up. The sport moves too quickly, and there are few things more annoying than watching a power play turn into a collection of blurry pixels just as the puck gets near the net. ExpressVPN is our preferred NHL VPN because it combines fast connections with a broad selection of server locations. That is particularly useful for hockey because the league’s viewing restrictions can be regional rather than simply country-wide.
We also like ExpressVPN for NHL viewing because it supports a wide range of devices and offers router options. That matters if your main hockey setup is a television or streaming device rather than a laptop. For travelers, there is another benefit. If you regularly watch hockey at home and then travel for work or vacation, a VPN gives you more control over the location of your connection instead of relying entirely on whatever network your hotel, airport, or rental provides.
Try ExpressVPN for the 2026–27 NHL season.
The NHL Is Different From Most Sports to Stream
The NHL’s viewing situation makes more sense once you understand the league itself. There are 32 franchises across the United States and Canada, divided between two conferences and four divisions. That combination of two countries, local team territories, national rights, regional rights, and international distribution is a big reason watching hockey can feel more complicated than it should.
The 2026–27 season also brings a major scheduling change. Each team will play 84 regular-season games, up from 82, with 42 at home and 42 on the road. The two additional games are divisional matchups, which means even more games against the teams NHL fans generally enjoy beating the most.
| NHL in 2026–27 | Details |
|---|---|
| Teams | 32 |
| Conferences | Eastern and Western |
| Divisions | Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, Pacific |
| Regular season | 84 games per team |
| Home/Road | 42 home, 42 away |
| Season begins | September 29, 2026 |
| Regular season ends | April 10, 2027 |
| Championship | Stanley Cup |
There are also a few dates worth circling. All 32 teams play during Frozen Frenzy on October 13, the Winter Classic arrives December 31, All-Star Weekend returns February 5–6, and the Stadium Series follows February 20. For international fans, the NHL has also added more Monday afternoon games in North America that fall into European primetime. It is a small scheduling change compared with the move to 84 games, but a welcome one if you are trying to follow the league from across the Atlantic.
How to Watch the 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The playoffs are where following the NHL goes from a hobby to rearranging your evening around puck drop. In the United States, ESPN platforms will carry coverage through the first three rounds of the 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs. TNT Sports is the exclusive U.S. home of the 2027 Stanley Cup Final.
In Canada, Sportsnet has extensive playoff coverage and will carry the Stanley Cup Final. Sportsnet has also announced that three early-round playoff series will air on Prime Video as part of the expanded Canadian package.
International viewers should check the broadcaster for their country or NHL.TV availability through DAZN. The postseason is also a good time to recheck your streaming setup even if everything worked during the regular season. National playoff rights can change where a game appears compared with the regional broadcasts you used to follow your team from October through April.
Watching NHL.TV Outside the United States and Canada
NHL.TV remains important for international hockey fans, but it no longer needs to dominate a general NHL VPN guide. For 2026–27, NHL.TV is offered through DAZN across a long list of supported international territories, including the United Kingdom and numerous countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. Availability is country-specific and can change.
Rather than duplicate everything here, we maintain a separate NHL.TV VPN guide covering how NHL.TV works, international availability, using a VPN with the service, and what to do when traveling. If you are in the U.S. or Canada, start with the viewing options earlier in this guide. If you are abroad and NHL.TV is available where you live, our NHL.TV guide is the better next stop.
Find Your NHL Team
With 32 teams and four divisions, local viewing rules can vary dramatically from one fan base to another. We are updating our individual NHL team guides for the 2026–27 season so you can find the streaming options, blackout information, and VPN method that make sense for the club you actually follow.
Atlantic Division
The Atlantic combines Original Six history with some of the NHL’s biggest Canadian and American hockey markets. Boston, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto give the division plenty of history, while Florida, Tampa Bay, Buffalo, and Ottawa make it one of the league’s most geographically interesting divisions for regional viewing.
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Sabres
- Detroit Red Wings
- Florida Panthers
- Montreal Canadiens
- Ottawa Senators
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Toronto Maple Leafs
Metropolitan Division
If you like rivalries that do not require much encouragement, the Metropolitan delivers. Several teams are packed into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, but their local broadcast situations can still differ substantially.
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- New York Rangers
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Washington Capitals
Central Division
The Central stretches across a huge section of North America, from Winnipeg down through the American Midwest and into Texas before reaching Colorado and Utah. That geography makes it a good example of why “local NHL market” can mean very different things depending on which team you follow.
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Colorado Avalanche
- Dallas Stars
- Minnesota Wild
- Nashville Predators
- St. Louis Blues
- Utah Mammoth
- Winnipeg Jets
Pacific Division
The Pacific includes three Canadian clubs alongside teams spread across the western United States. Late-night puck drops are part of the experience for East Coast fans, but regional broadcast territories can be the bigger problem when following a Pacific team from somewhere else.
- Anaheim Ducks
- Calgary Flames
- Edmonton Oilers
- Los Angeles Kings
- San Jose Sharks
- Seattle Kraken
- Vancouver Canucks
- Vegas Golden Knights
As our individual team pages are updated, use them for the more specific question of how to watch your NHL team, including its local and out-of-market options.
NHL VPN and Streaming FAQ
Yes, a VPN can be useful for NHL streaming because it changes the IP address and apparent location associated with your internet connection. That can help when location-based restrictions or travel are affecting the availability of a stream. You still need access to a streaming service that carries the game.
It can help when the blackout is based on the location detected from your internet connection. Connecting to an appropriate VPN server outside the affected market can change the location a streaming service sees. NHL rights are complicated, however, so make sure the service you are using actually has rights to the game in the location you select.
Usually because another broadcaster has the rights to show that game in your region. NHL games can be national, regional, or out-of-market broadcasts. If your streaming package is designed for out-of-market viewers but you are physically inside the team’s local territory, the regional rights holder may control access instead.
Yes, but NHL.TV is primarily an international option and is now delivered through DAZN in many supported territories for the 2026–27 season. We cover it separately in our NHL.TV VPN guide so international viewers can get more detailed instructions without making this general NHL guide unnecessarily complicated.
NHL Power Play is an out-of-market NHL option for viewers in the United States through the ESPN App. NHL.TV is an international NHL streaming product available through DAZN in supported territories. Which one matters to you depends primarily on where you live.
Watch the 2026–27 NHL Season Without Letting Geography Ruin Puck Drop
The NHL has never been short on ways to watch hockey. The challenge is figuring out which one applies to your game, your team, and your location. American fans have ESPN, ABC, TNT, NHL Power Play, and regional broadcasts to navigate. Canadian fans have Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, Prime Video, TVA Sports, and remaining regional restrictions. International fans have country-specific broadcasters and NHL.TV through DAZN in many territories.
Once you understand those three viewing systems, NHL blackouts become much less mysterious. If geography is the problem, a VPN gives you another tool for controlling the location associated with your connection. For us, ExpressVPN is the NHL VPN we would start with for the 2026–27 season, particularly for fans who travel, live outside their favorite team’s market, or regularly run into location-based streaming restrictions. Then all that is left is finding the game before the puck drops.
