You’re sitting on the couch, jersey on, beverage in hand, and the remote is practically sweating. The game starts in four minutes. You flip to the usual sports channel—nothing but poker reruns. You try the other one. It’s a documentary about pickleball. We’ve all been there, frantically Googling what channel is the hockey on while the opening faceoff is happening somewhere in a digital void.
Honestly, finding a game in 2026 feels like a part-time job. Between the massive national deals with Disney and TNT Sports, the regional blackouts that make no sense, and Canada’s brand-new streaming shakeups, the "where" is often more complicated than the "how."
The National Heavy Hitters: Where to Look First
If it’s a Tuesday or Wednesday night, your odds are high that the game is on TNT or ESPN. These are the big-ticket nights. For the 2025-26 season, the NHL leaned hard into these "national windows."
TNT Sports (which includes TBS and truTV sometimes) snagged a huge 72-game slate this year. They’ve basically claimed Wednesday nights as their own. If you see the Rangers or the Bruins on the schedule for a mid-week clash, check TNT first. If you're a cord-cutter, those same games are usually simulcast on Max (formerly HBO Max) via their B/R Sports Add-on.
Then you’ve got the Disney side of things. ESPN and ABC share a 100-game package. ABC is mostly for the big Saturday afternoon "Game of the Week" or those massive stadium series matchups, like the Bruins vs. Lightning game at the outdoor stadium in Tampa we saw back in February.
👉 See also: Meaning of Grand Slam: Why We Use It for Tennis, Baseball, and Breakfast
The Streaming "Black Hole"
Then there's the exclusive streaming stuff. You’ll see games labeled as "ESPN+/Hulu Exclusives." These are exactly what they sound like—they aren't on a "channel" at all. You have to open the app. Period. For a lot of fans, this is the most annoying part of the modern schedule because you can't just channel-surf into it.
Regional Sports Networks: The "Local" Problem
If the game isn't national, it’s on your Regional Sports Network (RSN). This is where things get messy. Depending on where you live, this could be:
- Bally Sports (now largely rebranding or transitioning in many markets)
- MSG (New York area)
- NESN (New England)
- NBC Sports (Chicago, Philly, etc.)
- Victory+ (A newer free-to-consumer model for teams like the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks)
The "Victory+" model is actually kinda cool—it’s an app-based service that’s free for fans in those specific territories. It’s a direct response to the "how do I find the game" headache. But for most other teams, you still need that specific cable tier or a specialized streaming service like Fubo to get your local feed.
What About Our Friends in the North?
Canada changed the game this year. While Sportsnet still holds the keys to the kingdom, Amazon Prime Video jumped into the fray with "Monday Night Hockey."
✨ Don't miss: NFL Week 5 2025 Point Spreads: What Most People Get Wrong
If it’s Monday and you’re looking for a Canadian team like the Leafs, Oilers, or Canadiens, don't check the TV guide. It’s likely exclusive to your Prime subscription. It was a weird adjustment at first, but the production quality is actually pretty slick. Saturday nights remain the sacred territory of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC and Sportsnet, keeping that tradition alive for at least a little longer.
Out-of-Market Fans: The ESPN+ "Power Play"
If you live in Florida but you’re a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan, your life is actually pretty easy. You just need ESPN+.
Through a feature called NHL Power Play, ESPN+ carries almost every single "out-of-market" game. This means if the game is being broadcast on a regional network in Detroit (like FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), and you are not in Detroit, you can stream it on the ESPN app.
Pro Tip: This does NOT work for your local team. If you live in Detroit and try to watch the Wings on ESPN+, you’ll get a "Blackout" message. You’d need the local cable channel for that.
🔗 Read more: Bethany Hamilton and the Shark: What Really Happened That Morning
Why You Can't Find the Game (Troubleshooting)
- Is it a National Exclusive? If TNT or ESPN is airing it exclusively, your local channel won't have it.
- Is it a "Frozen Frenzy" Night? Sometimes the NHL likes to put all 32 teams on at once (usually in late October). On these nights, the "whip-around" coverage is on ESPN2, showing goals from every game.
- Check the NHL Network: Don't forget this one. They take a local feed from one team and broadcast it nationally. However, if the game is on NHL Network, it usually gets pulled off ESPN+, which confuses everyone.
Quick Cheat Sheet for Tonight
Basically, look at the clock and the day of the week.
- Monday: Check Amazon Prime (Canada) or local RSNs.
- Tuesday: Likely ESPN or ESPN+ exclusives.
- Wednesday: Almost always TNT / Max.
- Thursday: Heavy RSN night (check your local listings).
- Saturday: ABC (afternoons) and CBC/Sportsnet (evenings).
Trying to figure out what channel is the hockey on requires a little bit of detective work these days, but once you know the "windows," it gets easier. The league is trying to reach more people by being everywhere at once, but the side effect is definitely some "where did the puck go?" moments on the TV guide.
To stay ahead of the next puck drop, your best move is to download the NHL App and favorite your team. It’ll send you a push notification about 15 minutes before the game telling you exactly which broadcast has the rights for your specific zip code. You can also bookmark the "Schedule" page on NHL.com, which now has a "Where to Watch" button that detects your location to save you the headache of the blackout guessing game.