- Season opens with defending Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes raising their championship banner
- Original Six showdown between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins on ESPN highlights a week of marquee matchups
- The Point leads off Tuesday’s coverage with nearly nine consecutive hours of NHL coverage on ESPN
- Thursday on ESPN+, Disney and Hulu features doubleheader action: Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks-Utah Mammoth
The NHL returns to ESPN for the 2026-27 season with a marquee tripleheader on opening night, Tuesday, Sept. 29. ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu begin its NHL slate with a pair of exclusive matchups on Thursday, Oct. 1, featuring the Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks at Utah Mammoth.
Opening night tripleheader drops the puck on the 2026-27 season
Opening night begins on ESPN and the ESPN app as the defending Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes raise their championship banner prior to puck drop against the Florida Panthers at 5 p.m. ET. Bob Wischusen will call the action alongside analyst Erik Johnson, with Leah Hextall reporting.
At 8 p.m., an Original Six rivalry takes center stage as the New York Rangers visit the Boston Bruins. Sean McDonough will handle play-by-play alongside analyst Ray Ferraro and insider/reporter Emily Kaplan.
The tripleheader concludes at 10:30 p.m. with the Chicago Blackhawks visiting last season’s Western Conference Champion, the Vegas Golden Knights. Mike Monaco will call the matchup with analyst Kevin Weekes and reporter Stormy Buonantony.
The Point opens ESPN’s NHL season
ESPN’s opening night coverage begins at 4 p.m. with The Point on ESPN and ESPN+, as host Steve Levy is joined by Hockey Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup Champion Mark Messier and 2013 Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban to preview the season and the night’s tripleheader for pregame, intermissions and postgame coverage.
Levy, Messier and Subban return throughout the season as ESPN’s signature NHL studio team, providing in-depth analysis and perspective around the league’s biggest games and storylines, plus features that take fans beyond the ice to explore the personalities, stories and culture surrounding hockey.
Studio W
The Point will originate from Studio W, bringing the show into ESPN’s most technologically advanced studio ever built.
The reimagined production environment can render and shift between virtual settings in real time, allowing analysts to break down plays alongside large-scale 3D visualizations that appear to occupy the physical studio space. With more than 148 million pixels across the full environment, including more than 9,200 square feet of LED displays and a purpose-built XR volume accounting for roughly 44.7 million pixels, Studio W delivers sharper imagery, richer color and a more cinematic viewing experience across ESPN platform.
Opening week continues Thursday
Thursday’s slate features another pair of exclusive matchups, beginning with the Flyers visiting the Devils at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu, with John Buccigross and AJ Mleczko on the call.
Later that evening, the Blackhawks face the Mammoth at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu, with John Kelly and Cassie Campbell-Pascall calling the action.
Dave Jackson will contribute as rules analyst across opening week.
The opening week games lead off ESPN’s full season of 100 exclusive games. More on the ESPN’s coverage here.
| Date | Time (ET) | Platform(s) | Game/Studio Show/Commentators |
| Tue, Sept 29 | 4 p.m. | ESPN, ESPN+ | The Point Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban |
| 5 p.m. | ESPN | Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes Bob Wischusen, Erik Johnson, Leah Hextall, Dave Jackson Studio: Levy, Messier, Subban | |
| 8 p.m. | ESPN | New York Rangers at Boston Bruins Sean McDonough, Ray Ferraro, Emily Kaplan, JacksonStudio: Levy, Messier, Subban | |
| 10:30 p.m. | ESPN | Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights Mike Monaco, Kevin Weekes, Stormy Buonantony, JacksonStudio: Levy, Messier, Subban | |
| Thu, Oct 1 | 7 p.m. | ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu | Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils John Buccigross, AJ Mleczko, JacksonStudio: Levy, Weekes, Kaplan |
| 9:30 p.m. | ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu | Chicago Blackhawks at Utah Mammoth John Kelly, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, JacksonStudio: Levy, Weekes, Kaplan |
*Please note commentator assignments may be subject to change.
NHL Digital Content on ESPN.com and ESPN App
For up-to-the-minute NHL news, information and analysis, visit ESPN.com/NHL and the ESPN App.
- Bold predictions for all 32 NHL teams
- Projecting the NHL’s leap-forward, regression candidates
- Stanley Cup contender tiers
- Lapsed fan’s guide to the 2026-27 season
- Monday: NHL season megapreview: Power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios and X factors
- Tuesday: Kaplan’s Opening Night notebook: Team Tkachuk in Florida, Dylan Larkin’s future and more
- Tuesday: Expert picks for the NHL season: Division and Cup champs plus major awards
- Wednesday: Wyshynski: Predicting every NHL team’s finish in 2026-27
- Thursday: Kryshak: Hockey prospects to watch in the upcoming NCAA hockey season
- Friday: Wyshynski: Breakout tiers: Predicting the new wave of NHL superstars
- Wednesday: Wyshynski: Predicting every NHL team’s finish in 2026-27
- Thursday: Kryshak: Hockey prospects to watch in the upcoming NCAA hockey season
- Friday: Wyshynski: Breakout tiers: Predicting the new wave of NHL superstars
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Media Contacts:
Andrea DiCristoforo | andrea.dicristoforo@espn.com | 213-405-4612
Megan Nelson | Megan.S.Nelson@espn.com | 310-741-0689