Getty Anders Lee makes his regular season return to the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
The New York Islanders open the season with a formidable Carolina Hurricanes team at the outset of a 13-game road trip.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on MSG+ for those who live in the Islanders market, and Bally Sports South for those who live in the Hurricanes market. It will also stream live on ESPN+ for everyone out of market in the United States.
Here’s a full rundown of how you can watch a live stream of the Islanders vs Hurricanes in the US, which your options depending on where you live:
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If the Game is in Your Market
DirecTV Stream
Note: This option is for viewers in the Islanders and Hurricanes markets
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” MSG+ and Bally Sports South (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 Islanders vs Hurricanes 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).
FuboTV
Note: This option is for viewers in the Islanders market
You can watch a live stream of MSG+ (live in local markets) and 100-plus other live TV channels (TNT not included) on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Islanders vs Hurricanes 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.
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 Islanders vs Hurricanes (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.
Islanders vs Hurricanes Preview
The Islanders and Hurricanes need this opener as potential front runners for the Metropolitan Division.
New York brought back a lot of its roster from a second-straight conference finals appearance and added veteran players in Zach Parise and Zdeno Chara. The Islanders also have leading scorer Mathew Barzal back along with left wing Anders Lee coming back from injury.
Though it’s the first of 13 road games, Islanders head coach Barry Trotz isn’t concerned. Carolina went 20-3-5 at home last season, and the Islanders weren’t great on the road — a 11-13-4 record in the 56-game season.
“Going on the road will actually be a good thing for us,” Trotz said per NewYorkIslanders.com’s Sasha Kandrach. “We’ve been at home for quite a while. An early road trip is always good, and it will be good for this group. It’s a good challenge. I look at the first two teams that we’re playing; we’ve got Carolina and Florida. Those will be good benchmark-type of games. Should engage us real quickly. Hopefully, we’ll have some success. We’re very capable of it.”
A new-look Carolina squad just wants to see another team besides themselves after training camp and preseason.
“I think everybody is,” Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told the media on Wednesday per Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer. “I think we’re all practiced out, so to speak. Guys want to play.”
Carolina and New York haven’t met since the 2019-2020 season due to the division reorganization last season amid COVID-19. The Islanders wouldn’t recognize the Hurricanes either way though.
The Hurricanes made changes in goal with Frederik Andersen and Anitti Raanta coming aboard. Carolina also brought in new defensemen such as Ian Cole, Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Smith, and Ethan Bear. Offensive additions included centers Derek Stepan and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who notably came over from the Stanley Cup runner-up Montreal Canadiens.
“I’ve still got some questions about the whole group because I’m not 100 percent about how the lines are going to go; I’m not sure how the combinations are going to work,” Brind’ Amour said per Alexander. “We haven’t had a chance to really see it go. You probably need to be excited, as a coach, but you’re always a little apprehensive.”
Carolina will get its first look at Andersen in goal for regular season action per Hurricanes.com’s Walt Ruff. Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov has a nagging injury that he’s “tending to” as the team had him listed as “doubtful” for Thursday’s game per Kandrach.