Getty Sidney Crosby may return to the ice on Thursday according to media reports.
Sidney Crosby may return for the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-1-2) on Thursday when facing the red-hot Calgary Flames (4-1-1), riding a four-game winning streak.
In the United States, the game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh in the Penguins market, and it will stream live on ESPN+ for everyone else in the US.
Here’s a full rundown of how you can watch a live stream of the Flames vs Penguins in the US, which your options depending on where you live:
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If You Live in the Penguins Market
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (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 Flames vs Penguins 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.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (live in local markets) is included in “Choice” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Flames vs Penguins 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 You Live out of the Penguins 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 Flames vs Penguins (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.
Flames vs Penguins Preview
Pittsburgh may return its biggest star to the ice on Thursday with Sidney Crosby showing signs of a comeback from offseason wrist surgery.
Rumors of Crosby’s return against the Flames surfaced amid his participation in Thursday’s morning skate according to Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Shelly Anderson. Crosby hasn’t played since last season.
“We’ll see how he responds,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said per PittsburghPenguins.com’s Michelle Crechiolo. “We’ll listen to the medical staff and we’ll make decisions accordingly. But we’re really encouraged with his progress.”
If Crosby returns on Thursday, it will come against a Calgary Flames team seeking a fifth-consecutive win after opening the season 0-1-1 in losses to Edmonton and Anaheim.
Since, the Flames reeled off four-straight wins with the latest coming in a 5-3 victory at New Jersey on Tuesday. The Flames built a four-goal lead in that game and held off New Jersey’s comeback attempt.
While Pittsburgh started the season with a bang in beating the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2, it’s been all up and down ever since. The Penguins haven’t strung together any consecutive wins yet.
Pittsburgh has spread out its scoring the absence of stars in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin due to injury. Drew O’Connor, Danton Heinen, and Evan Rodrigues led the team with five points apiece. Nine other Penguins have four points.
“We have a lot of internal competition, because players are playing well,” Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said per ESPN.com. “We’re playing collectively as a group, and our structure is good.”
Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry has shoulder the load in net so far with a 3-1-1 record, 1.78 goals against average, and a .933 save percentage. Casey DeSmith played in one game, a 5-4 overtime loss to the unbeaten Florida Panthers on Oct. 14. DeSmith stopped 34 shots in the loss. He hasn’t played since because the Penguins haven’t played back-to-back games of late according to Trib Live’s Seth Rorabaugh.
“It wasn’t displeased with how I played,” DeSmith said per Rorabaugh. “It was a pretty high-event game. There were (16 combined power-play opportunities) in the game. And obviously, overtime and stuff like that. So there was a lot of quality looks in the game. I thought I made some really good saves. It was definitely good to get back into it.”
“Looking forward to getting back into there,” DeSmith added.
Calgary hasn’t lost in 10 days with Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar splitting time in goal. Markstrom started the first three games of the season before their rotation started.
Vladar has a 2-0-0 record with a 2.94 goals against average and an .891 save percentage. Markstrom owns a 2-1-1 record with a .934 save percentage and 1.99 goals against average.
Left winger Johnny Gaudreau and center Elias Lindholm led the Flames in scoring with eight points apiece. Andrew Mangiapane has seven goals at left wing for third on the team. Dilllon Dube and Rasmus Andersson have four points apiece.
Overall, the Flames have fared well without former star defenseman Mark Giordano, who left via the expansion draft.
“It just feels natural. We’re just kind of not thinking about that,” Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk said per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “We’re just being whoever is in the leadership group. There’s a bunch of us and we’re kind of providing what we can provide and doing it all by committee. So it’s been good.”