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The New York Islanders will open their 2019-20 season by hosting the Washington Capitals at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Friday.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and will be on either MSG+ (local viewers in Islanders market), NBC Sports Washington (local viewers in Capitals 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 Capitals or Islanders Market: FuboTV
For those who live in local markets, MSG+ and NBC Sports Washington 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 Capitals vs Islanders 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 Capitals and Islanders Markets: ESPN+
If you live in the United States and you’re outside of the Capitals and Islanders 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 Capitals vs Islanders 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 Capitals Market: Hulu With Live TV
For those who live in local markets, NBC Sports Washington is 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. MSG+ is not included.
You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Capitals vs Islanders 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.
Capitals vs Islanders Preview
The Capitals went 48-26-8 last season, but couldn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs in their defense of the 2018 Stanley Cup title, bowing out against the Boston Bruins in seven games.
On Wednesday, they opened their 2019-20 campaign with a comeback overtime victory over last year’s Stanley Cup champs, the St. Louis Blues.
St. Louis took a 2-0 lead eight minutes into each team’s season debut, but Washington captain Alex Ovechkin halved the deficit late in the first period.
Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov, who tallied 3 goals across 82 games last season, tied the game on a power play in the second.
Washington forward Jakub Vrana, whose 24 goals last year ranked third on the team, accelerated past Blue defenseman Ryan O’Reilly and beat goalie Jordan Binnington with a snap shot 2:51 into overtime for the 3-2 victory.
Over the offseason, Washington acquired bruising defenseman Radko Gudas, hard-hitting forward Garnet Hathaway, and big two-way forward Richard Panik in an effort to add more physicality that can complement speedsters like Vrana, Carl Hagelin, and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
“I think the speed and quickness is a big part of the game, but I do think you have to have the ability to play a heavy game,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said, according to The Washington Post. “I think the balance is the tricky part, to get enough of both in your lineup.”
The Islanders served as one of the league’s bigger surprises in 2018-19, going 48-27-7 in their first season under head coach Barry Trotz despite losing star center Jonathan Tavares in free agency.
They swept the Pittsburgh Penquins in the first round of the playoffs, then suffered 4-0 series defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second.
“I don’t think you ever really get over it,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said in September of the team’s second-round exit, according to The Associated Press. “You learn from it and you take away from it what you can, but it’s always going to be there.”
While several Metropolitan Division squads dramatically overhauled their rosters over the offseason, the Islanders stood pat for the most part.
Crosstown rivals the New York Rangers signed All-Star forward Artemi Panarin to a lucrative seven-year contract and traded for young defenseman Jacob Trouba. Over the state line, the New Jersey Devils landed All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban and hyped forward prospect Nikita Gusev in trades.
“You look at our division, and you talk about teams definitely got better,” Isles forward Jordan Eberle said, per AP. “The additions they made, sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. The nice thing with our group, we know what to expect. It’s just a matter of putting in the work, playing the right way.”