The Columbus Blue Jackets will host the Seattle Kraken at Nationwide Arena on Saturday.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on Root Sports Northwest for those who live in the Kraken market, and Bally Sports Ohio for those who live in the Blue Jackets 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 Kraken 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
FuboTV
Note: This option is for viewers in the Kraken market
You can watch a live stream of Root Sports Northwest (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 Kraken vs Blue Jackets 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
Note: This option is for viewers in the Blue Jackets market
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” NESN and Bally Sports Ohio (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 Kraken 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 Kraken vs Blue Jackets (either team’s broadcast) live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, 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.
Kraken vs Blue Jackets Preview
In the Kraken’s second-ever game, they earned their first-ever victory.
Seattle forward Brandon Tanev scored twice, potting what’d stand as the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining, to propel the expansion team to a 4-3 road triumph over the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
“It’s just a big win for the franchise,” center Alex Wennberg said, according to The Seattle Times. “It’s so new, I mean to get that first win, it’s a really big accomplishment. It’s really good for us as a team and the organization, that’s the first one, hopefully there’s many more to come.”
Wennberg and fellow center Jared McCann each notched a goal and an assist. Tanev’s second tally put the Kraken up 4-2 and came on the team’s lone on-goal shot of the third period; Nashville managed 12 shots on goal in the frame, including center Mikael Granlund’s deficit-halving goal with 39 seconds left.
Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 27 stops.
“I think it’s going to be a couple of games for sure where this group makes mistakes,” Grubauer said, per The Seattle Times. “Everybody wants to be perfect, but I think there needs to be mistakes made, and we want to learn from them. And I think that’s not always a bad thing, you can learn as a group and clean those things up.”
The franchise’s first shot at a winning streak runs through a Blue Jackets squad that demolished the Arizona Coyotes 8-2 at home in their opener on Thursday.
Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins came up with 36 saves in Brad Larsen’s first game as an NHL head coach.
“I didn’t think we played that well, but we found ways to score,” Larsen said, according to The Associated Press. “That’s good. We have such a better game in us.
“Elvis was really good for us tonight. It was a strange 8-2 game. I’m happy to get the win. There are a lot of positives. But we have a lot of work to do.”
Forward Oliver Bjorkstrand, coming off a career-best 44-point season, scored a pair of goals and added as many assists for Columbus. Center Max Domi added a goal and a pair of helpers.
“It’s never a bad way to start,” Bjorkstrand said, per AP. “Obviously, you can’t get too comfortable. There are things we can do better. It was a weird night. I thought they had the puck a lot, but we finished off. We have to get ready for the next one.”