Why You Can Trust CNET NHL Playoffs 2024: How to Watch, Second Round Schedule, Matchups, TV Times
The quest for Lord Stanley's Cup continues this week, and you don't need cable to watch.
It's the greatest time of year for hockey fans. The animosity that develops between two teams over a seven-game series. The intensity of sudden-death overtime. Playoff beards. The ability of a hot goaltender to lead an underdog team on a deep playoff run. The Holy Grail that is the Stanley Cup itself. There's nothing quite like the NHL Playoffs.
Here's everything you need to know to watch the second-round action tonight and the rest of the week, with or without cable.
The Florida Panthers lead the Boston Bruins three games to one in their second-round series and can eliminate the B's tonight in Game 5 on home ice.
How to watch the NHL playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs are shown on ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, TBS and TNT. You can watch the games with a cable subscription or a live TV streaming service. Four of the five major services (all but Fubo, which lacks TNT and TBS) offer the five channels needed to watch every NHL playoff game. You can also watch the TNT and TBS games with Max.
In some markets, fans who live in the same area as their favorite team can also watch its games on a regional sports network, or RSN. Bruins fans in the Boston area, for example, can watch Bruins games on NESN. Other examples include Rangers fans in the New York area being able to watch Rangers games on MSG, and Oilers fans in Edmonton watching the Oilers on Bally Sports West.
What is the NHL playoff schedule?
Here's the schedule for tonight and through the rest of the week (all times ET).
Tuesday, May 14
- Game 5: Bruins vs. Panthers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 4: Canucks vs. Oilers, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
Wednesday, May 15
- Game 5: Avalanche vs. Stars, 8 p.m. on ESPN
Thursday, May 16
- Game 6: Rangers vs. Hurricanes, 7 p.m. on TNT
- Game 5: Oilers vs. Canucks, 10 p.m. on TNT
Friday, May 17
- Game 6*: Panthers vs. Bruins, TBD
- Game 6*: Stars vs. Avalanche, TBD
*If necessary.
What are the playoff matchups for the second round?
Upsets were few in the first round. In fact, there was only one with the third-place Avalanche knocking out the second-place Jets. The lack of upsets means we are left with some heavyweight matchups for Round 2.
Here are the matchups and the status of each series as of Tuesday.
Eastern Conference
- Florida Panthers vs. Boston Bruins (Panthers lead series 3-1)
- New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Rangers lead series 3-2)
Western Conference
- Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche (Stars lead series 3-1)
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers (Canucks lead series 2-1)
Sling TV's $40-per-month Orange plan includes TBS, TNT, ESPN and ESPN 2, but you'll need the combined Orange-and-Blue plan for $55 a month to get both ESPN and ABC for the rest of the playoffs. You'll also need to live in one of the few markets where Sling offers ABC.
YouTube TV costs $73 per month and includes all the channels you'll need for the NHL playoffs. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to confirm which local networks are available in your area.
Hulu with Live TV costs $77 per month and includes all the channels you'll need for the playoffs. Click the "View channels in your area" link on its welcome page to confirm which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.
DirecTV Stream's basic $80-per-month plan includes all the channels you'll need. You can use its channel lookup tool to confirm that ABC is available where you live.
The ad-supported plan for Max costs $10 per month and will show the games that air on TBS and TNT. With just Max, you'll miss games on ESPN and ABC.
Live sports on Max will soon require the $10-per-month B/R Sports add-on, but you won't need to shell out for it just yet. Warner Bros. Discovery is delaying charging customers for the add-on for now and includes it in the standard subscription.
All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.