Getty Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Chicago Blackhawks head to PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, October 10 to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, with both teams kicking off their respective NHL campaigns.
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The game will be televised on ESPN, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream for free on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream.
Here’s how:
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN 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 Blackhawks vs Penguins live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include 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.
You can also watch live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN is included in all of them, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Blackhawks vs Penguins live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include 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.
You can also watch live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials to do that.
ESPN+
If you’ve used up all your free trials for other streaming services, ESPN+ is the cheapest way to watch a live stream of the game:
ESPN+ includes hundreds of NHL games this season, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch the Blackhawks vs Penguins live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include 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.
Sling TV
Another low-priced option if you’ve used up your free trials, Sling TV is the cheapest long-term cable-replacing streaming service that includes this game. ESPN is included in the “Sling Orange” bundle, which is just $20 for your first month:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Blackhawks vs Penguins live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include 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), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
Blackhawks vs Penguins Preview
All eyes will be on Blackhawks 18-year-old rookie Connor Bedard in this game, as Bedard is set to make his hotly anticipated NHL debut against his childhood idol, Sidney Crosby.
“I’m so excited. It’s hard to think about and realize it’s true, but it’s really exciting,” Bedard said about hitting the ice as a pro for the first time. “It’s a big moment. In the end, for me, it’s taking the anthem and their player announcement, their warmup and having that be the ‘Oh my God’ moment. Once the game starts, you focus on the game and not be starstruck as much. That first bit is going to be pretty crazy.”
Chicago went 26-49-7 overall last season, and it landed the first overall pick in the draft lottery, making Bedard’s selection a no-brainer. Now, he’ll get to start his career facing off against a legend and an all-time favorite.
“Growing up, he was obviously my favorite player,” Bedard said about Crosby. “Getting that opportunity to start off is pretty sweet.”
As for Pittsburgh, it went 40-31-11 last season, and its trio of stars — aka the Big Three, consisting of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang — remains. Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust are also back.
“We try to play fast and smart,” Evgeni Malkin said. “We watch lots of video and we understand we’re not happy from last year, and we want to start the season pretty well. We start at home, new guys, great experience in this locker room. I think we’ve had a great training camp. We’re ready to go against Chicago.”
On the injury front, the Blackhawks’ forward Philipp Kurashev (wrist) is considered day to day, but should play, while the Penguins will be without Mark Pysyk (out, lower-body) and Jake Guentzel (out, ankle).
Here’s a look at the rosters for both teams heading into the game:
Pittsburgh: Forwards: Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell, Drew O’Connor-Lars Eller-Jansen Harkins, Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter. Defensemen: Ryan Graves-Kris Letang, Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson, P.O Joseph-Chad Ruhwedel, Ryan Shea and John Ludvig. Goaltenders: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic.
Chicago: Forwards: Andreas Athanasiou, Connor Bedard, Jason Dickinson, Ryan Donato, MacKenzie Entwistle, Nick Foligno, Cole Guttman, Taylor Hall, Reese Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Boris Katchouk, Corey Perry, Taylor Raddysh and Lukas Reichel. Defensemen: Seth Jones, Wyatt Kaiser, Kevin Korchinski, Connor Murphy, Jarred Tinordi, Alex Vlasic and Nikita Zaitsev. Goaltenders: Petr Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom.