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The Chicago Blackhawks will host the San Jose Sharks at the United Center on Thursday.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be on either NBC Sports California (local viewers in Sharks market), NBC Sports Chicago (local viewers in Blackhawks market), or ESPN+ (everywhere else in the United States). Here’s a rundown of how to watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, or streaming device:
If You’re in the Sharks or Blackhawks Market: FuboTV
For those who live in local markets, NBC Sports California and NBC Sports Chicago are part of the 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Sharks vs Blackhawks on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which will allow you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
If You’re Outside the Sharks & Blackhawks Markets: ESPN+
If you live in the United States and you’re outside of the Sharks and Blackhawks markets, you can watch the game live on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has coverage of several out-of-market NHL games every week, plus dozens of other live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and other original content for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Sharks vs Blackhawks on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
If You’re in the Sharks or Blackhawks Market: Hulu With Live TV
For those who live in local markets, NBC Sports California and NBC Sports Chicago are part of the 60-plus live TV channels included with Hulu With Live TV, which also comes with Hulu’s huge on-demand streaming TV and movie library.
You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Sharks vs Blackhawks on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Sharks vs Blackhawks Preview
The Blackhawks haven’t played since Friday, when they opened their season with a 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Prague.
“Ultimately we just didn’t manage the puck well enough and we exposed ourselves defensively,” Chicago head coach Jeremy Colliton said, according to the team’s official website. “I don’t think we made plays, especially in the second period, but we’ve got to find a way to limit the damage.”
Patrick Kane led Chicago with three points, assisting on his side’s first two goals and cutting the lead to one with a tally of his own late in the third period.
“I think there’s always things to improve upon,” Kane said, per the team’s site. “For some reason every year it takes me a little bit to get into the game. Whatever the numbers were tonight, I still think I have more to give to the team and can create more and have the puck a little bit more out there too, so just keep building here.”
The 2016 Hart Trophy winner finished last season with a career-high 110 points, ranking third in the NHL.
“He makes the difference for us,” Colliton said of Kane, per the team’s site. “It didn’t seem like there was much ice out there early on. Again, we didn’t make any plays, we struggled to support the puck, I thought, but he found a way, got a little bit of an opening and then made it happen.”
A season removed from a trip to the Western Conference finals, the Sharks have dropped their first four contests of the 2019-20 campaign in regulation. On Tuesday, they fell to the Nashville Predators 5-2 on the road.
“This is a league where you have to combine work ethic with a smart game,” San Jose head coach Peter DeBoer said, according to The Associated Press. “We made a few glaring mistakes, and the ones we made they stuck in the back of the net. That’s what a good team will do to you.”
The Sharks outshot Nashville 35-25, but 2018 Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne was up to the task.
“When things are not really going your way, you try sometimes to do a little bit too much,” Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said, per AP. “I think that today we had longer periods of time when we were controlling play and we were playing the way that we want. But again, I don’t think that we started the way that we wanted.”