Getty Jonathan Toews is back with the Chicago Blackhawks this year.
The St. Louis Blues will head to the United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in preseason NHL action Thursday, October 1.
In the United States, the game (8:30 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago+ (in local markets; Blackhawks broadcast), and it will also stream live on ESPN+ for everyone outside of the Blackhawks market. Games on ESPN+ are normally blacked out for in-market viewers, but this one is also available for those inside the Blues market.
Here’s a complete rundown of all the different ways you can watch a live stream of the Blues vs Blackhawks online:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
If You are in the Blackhawks’ Market
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBC Sports Chicago+ (live in local markets) and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Blues vs Blackhawks live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most games on-demand within three days of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC Sports Chicago+ (live in local markets) and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Blues vs Blackhawks live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Hulu credentials to log in and watch.
If You are Outside of the Blackhawks’ Market
ESPN+
For US viewers, if you live in the Blues’ market, or if the game is out of your market, you can watch it live on ESPN+:
ESPN+ has replaced NHL.TV this year, meaning it will have every out-of-market NHL game during the regular season (as well as some in- and out-of-market games during the preseason). It also includes at least one exclusive (available in all markets, not televised anywhere else) NHL game per week, as well as other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) all for $6.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $13.99 per month. Separately, the three streaming services would cost a total $20.97 per month, so you’re saving about 33 percent:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch the Blues vs Blackhawks live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Blues vs Blackhawks Preview
Chicago has captain Jonathan Toews back, which is huge for the team. The Blackhawks are coming off a 4-3 preseason loss to the Detroit Red Wings on September 29. Chicago held a 3-2 lead late in the third period, but couldn’t hold on and lost in a shootout.
Toews was on the ice for 22:48 minutes, and he had three shots on goal, an assist and a goal in the shootout.
The Blackhawks signed Marc-Andre Fleury to be the new goaltender, but as it’s preseason, Kevin Lankinen got the nod against the Red Wings. That’ll change once the regular season starts.
On the defensive end, the Blackhawks have Connor Murphy and new additions Seth Jones and Jake McCabe, and coach Jeremy Colliton is confident that the team will show improvement on the back end this year.
“The size and mobility of our back end [will] allow us to be more aggressive in the ‘D’ zone, which we’d like to be to get out [successfully],” Colliton said. “That’s been a focus for us. We want to be aggressive and physical, get stops when we can, get going the other way, and use that mobility on the back end — once we do get it back — to create something in transition. We have enough speed back there that we should be able to create some good situations in transition.”
After a 24-25-7 finish (6th in the Central), the Blackhawks think they have what they need this year to make the playoffs for a second time in the last five years.
“It’s going to be a lot better this year,” Blackhawks defender Riley Stillman told The Chicago Sun-Times. “We’re just that much further ahead than we were last year. The different look on the back end … is going to allow us to make that next step.”
As for the Blues, they finished their campaign last year netting 1.91 expected goals per 60 minutes, which was 30th in the NHL. They are coming off a first-round playoff loss to the Colorado Avalanche in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.
St. Louis added forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad to replace both Mike Hoffman and Jaden Schwartz, with the aim of adding depth while also becoming a more powerful scoring threat.
“I got some young guys playing with some veteran guys,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “I want young guys to feel comfortable so I put them with some veteran guys and that’s going to help them. … I thought Saad would be a good fit there, a big guy that goes to the net. We’ll see how it goes.”