Getty Coyotes players (left-rigth) Antoine Roussel, Andrew Ladd, and Travis Boyd celebrate a goal in the preseason.
The Arizona Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets meet in a matchup of team with new head coaches on Thursday night in Columbus.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on Bally Sports Ohio for those who live in the Blue Jackets market, and Bally Sports Arizona for those who live in the Coyotes market. It will also stream live on ESPN+ for everyone else in the United States.
Here’s a full rundown of how you can watch a live stream of the Coyotes vs Blue Jackets in the US, which your options depending on where you live:
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If the Game is in Your Market
DirecTV Stream
This is the only streaming service that has Bally Sports Ohio or Bally Sports Arizona
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Bally Sports Ohio and Bally Sports Arizona (both live in local markets) are included in “Choice” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Coyotes vs Blue Jackets live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung 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 DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
If the Game is out of Your Market
ESPN+
Viewers in the United States can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised NHL game (over 1,000 games total) on ESPN+, which replaces NHL.tv this season and is a must-have for any NHL fan:
ESPN+, which also includes about 75 exclusive national NHL games, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary in existence and additional original content (both video and written), costs $6.99 for a month or $69.99 for a year (or about seven cents per NHL game if you want to look at it that way).
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 Coyotes vs Blue Jackets (either team’s broadcast) 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.
Coyotes vs Blue Jackets Preview
While both the Coyotes and Blue Jackets made significant changes from head coaches to positions all over the ice, neither team sees it as a ticket to the draft lottery.
Columbus revamped its roster amid head coach Brad Larsen taking the helm. Right wing Jakub Voracek, who returned to Columbus via a trade after being away for 10 years, hopes to help the team get back on track after missing the playoffs.
“Everybody says it’s a rebuild,” Voracek told the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger. “Well, if it’s a rebuild, why would Jarmo (Kealainen) trade for an $8.25 million player that is 32 years old, you know? I kind of sense out of that, that they want me to be a guy to guide the guys through the next couple years. And I take it as a huge opportunity.”
The Blue Jackets start with a new-look Arizona team coming to Columbus that has two new goalies. The Coyotes traded Darcy Kuemper and let Antti Raanta leave in free agency. It will fall on Carter Hutton and Josef Korrenar to make stops for the Coyotes.
Arizona made lots of changes elsewhere on the roster and hired Andre Tourigny to coach the team. He has veteran Phil Kessel and a host of young players to work with. The Coyotes had a promising start with a 5-1 mark in the preseason.
“We practice hard; we don’t take shifts off or any part of the drill off,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said per Field Level Media via WGN Radio 720. “That was one of the reasons I liked (Tourigny) a lot, and I’ve said it a few times: Where there’s a lot of accountability but when he’s pushing them, there’s some likability on the other side.”
The Coyotes also brought in players who have been on the other side of things in the NHL — playing for Stanley Cups with their previous teams. New Coyotes Anton Stralman, Andrew Ladd, Liam O’Brien, Jay Beagle, and Travis Boyd all made it to the Stanley Cup Finals or won it.
“When you bring a championship pedigree or a player who has played a lot of really good teams in their career, I think that sends a message to the entire team and our younger players,” Tourigny said, according to Jose Romero of the Arizona Republic.
Tourigny served as an assistant coach in the NHL followed by coaching in the Hockey Canada national team program. Larsen emerged from the Blue Jackets bench as the head coach after serving as an assistant since the 2014-2015 season.
“He was the guy that you would go to for video, for help, for a whole array of things,” Blue Jackets center Jack Roslovic said of Larsen per Field Level Media. “Now to have him as a head coach, it’s great because that connection is there and that comfort level is there.”