Season opens with defending Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes raising their championship banner
\nOriginal Six showdown between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins on ESPN highlights a week of marquee matchups
\nThe Point\u00a0leads off Tuesday\u2019s coverage with nearly nine consecutive hours of NHL coverage on ESPN\u00a0
\nThursday on ESPN+, Disney and Hulu features doubleheader action: Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks-Utah Mammoth<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n Opening night tripleheader drops the puck on the 2026-27 season At 8 p.m., an Original Six rivalry takes center stage as the New York Rangers visit the Boston Bruins.\u00a0Sean McDonough\u00a0will handle play-by-play alongside analyst\u00a0Ray Ferraro\u00a0and insider\/reporter\u00a0Emily Kaplan.<\/p>\n The tripleheader concludes at 10:30 p.m. with the Chicago Blackhawks visiting last season\u2019s Western Conference Champion, the Vegas Golden Knights.\u00a0Mike Monaco\u00a0will call the matchup with analyst\u00a0Kevin Weekes\u00a0and reporter\u00a0Stormy Buonantony.<\/p>\n The Point\u00a0opens ESPN\u2019s NHL season<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s opening night coverage begins at 4 p.m. with\u00a0The Point\u00a0on ESPN and ESPN+, as host\u00a0Steve Levy\u00a0is joined by Hockey Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup Champion\u00a0Mark Messier\u00a0and 2013 Norris Trophy winner\u00a0P.K. Subban\u00a0to preview the season and the night\u2019s tripleheader for pregame, intermissions and postgame coverage.<\/p>\n Levy, Messier and Subban return throughout the season as ESPN\u2019s signature NHL studio team, providing in-depth analysis and perspective around the league\u2019s biggest games and storylines, plus features that take fans beyond the ice to explore the personalities, stories and culture surrounding hockey.<\/p>\n Studio W<\/p>\n The Point\u00a0will\u00a0originate\u00a0from Studio W,\u00a0bringing the show into ESPN\u2019s most technologically advanced studio ever\u00a0built.<\/p>\n The reimagined\u00a0production environment\u00a0can render\u00a0and shift\u00a0between\u00a0virtual settings in real time, allowing analysts to\u00a0break down plays\u00a0alongside\u00a0large-scale 3D visualizations that appear to occupy the\u00a0physical studio\u00a0space. 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.<\/p>\n Opening week continues Thursday<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s slate features another pair of exclusive matchups, beginning with the Flyers visiting the Devils at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu, with\u00a0John Buccigross\u00a0and\u00a0AJ Mleczko\u00a0on the call.<\/p>\n Later that evening, the Blackhawks face the Mammoth at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu, with\u00a0John Kelly\u00a0and\u00a0Cassie Campbell-Pascall\u00a0calling the action.<\/p>\n Dave Jackson\u00a0will contribute as rules analyst across opening week.<\/p>\n The opening week games lead off ESPN\u2019s full season of 100 exclusive games. More on the ESPN\u2019s coverage\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n DateTime (ET)Platform(s)Game\/Studio Show\/CommentatorsTue, Sept 294 p.m.ESPN, ESPN+The Point<\/a> Studio: Levy, Messier, Subban<\/p>\n 8 p.m.ESPNNew York Rangers\u00a0at\u00a0Boston Bruins *Please note commentator assignments may be subject to change.<\/p>\n NHL Digital Content on ESPN.com and ESPN App<\/p>\n For up-to-the-minute NHL news, information and analysis, visit\u00a0ESPN.com\/NHL<\/a>\u00a0and the ESPN App.<\/p>\n Bold predictions for all 32 NHL teams<\/a> \u2013 30 \u2013<\/p>\n Media Contacts:
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.\u00a0Bob Wischusen\u00a0will call the action alongside analyst\u00a0Erik Johnson, with\u00a0Leah Hextall\u00a0reporting.<\/p>\n
Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban5 p.m.ESPNFlorida Panthers\u00a0at\u00a0Carolina Hurricanes
Bob Wischusen, Erik Johnson, Leah Hextall, Dave Jackson<\/p>\n
Sean McDonough, Ray Ferraro, Emily Kaplan, JacksonStudio: Levy, Messier, Subban10:30 p.m.ESPNChicago Blackhawks\u00a0at\u00a0Vegas Golden Knights
Mike Monaco, Kevin Weekes, Stormy Buonantony, JacksonStudio: Levy, Messier, SubbanThu, Oct 17 p.m.ESPN+, Disney+, HuluPhiladelphia Flyers\u00a0at\u00a0New Jersey Devils
John Buccigross, AJ Mleczko, JacksonStudio: Levy, Weekes, Kaplan9:30 p.m.ESPN+, Disney+, HuluChicago Blackhawks\u00a0at\u00a0Utah Mammoth
John Kelly, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, JacksonStudio: Levy, Weekes, Kaplan<\/p>\n
\nProjecting the NHL\u2019s leap-forward, regression candidates<\/a>
\nStanley Cup contender tiers<\/a>
\nLapsed fan\u2019s guide to the 2026-27 season<\/a>
\nMonday: NHL season megapreview: Power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios and X factors
\nTuesday: Kaplan\u2019s Opening Night notebook: Team Tkachuk in Florida, Dylan Larkin\u2019s future and more
\nTuesday: Expert picks for the NHL season: Division and Cup champs plus major awards
\nWednesday: Wyshynski: Predicting every NHL team\u2019s finish in 2026-27
\nThursday: Kryshak: Hockey prospects to watch in the upcoming NCAA hockey season
\nFriday: Wyshynski: Breakout tiers: Predicting the new wave of NHL superstars
\nWednesday: Wyshynski: Predicting every NHL team\u2019s finish in 2026-27
\nThursday: Kryshak: Hockey prospects to watch in the upcoming NCAA hockey season
\nFriday: Wyshynski: Breakout tiers: Predicting the new wave of NHL superstars<\/p>\n
Andrea DiCristoforo |\u00a0andrea.dicristoforo@espn.com<\/a>\u00a0| 213-405-4612
Megan Nelson |\u00a0Megan.S.Nelson@espn.com<\/a>\u00a0| 310-741-0689<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Season opens with defending Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes raising their championship banner Original Six showdown between the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":907779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-907778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}