The Tampa Bay Lightning aim to become the first teams since the New York Islanders of the early 1908s to win a third-consecutive Stanley Cup title.
In 2021-22, most Lightning games will be televised in local markets on Bally Sports Sun, while some games will be nationally televised on NHL Network (usually out of market only, but those will also be on Bally Sports Sun), TNT or ESPN.
Additionally, every out-of-market game (and some nationally broadcast games) will also stream on ESPN+, which replaces NHL.tv this season.
Whether you live in the Lightning market or somewhere else in the United States, here’s a full rundown of the different ways you can watch every Lightning game live online without cable in 2021-22:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
If You’re in the Lightning Market
Note: A couple Lightning games this season will stream exclusively on ESPN+ nationally with no blackout for in-market viewers (that includes the season opener, which is available on both ESPN and ESPN+ for everyone in the US). The following option is for how to watch all other in-market games:
DirecTV Stream
This is the only streaming service that has Bally Sports Sun
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN and TNT are included in all of them, Bally Sports Sun (local markets) is in “Choice” and up, and NHL Network is in “Ultimate” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Lightning games 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 You’re out of the Lightning Market
ESPN+
You 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 in the United States:
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 every out-of-market Lightning game 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.
Lightning Season Preview 2021-22
Tampa Bay lost all of its third line amid salary cap constraints, but the Lightning added talent with key acquisitions during the offseason.
Backup goalie Brian Elliott, defenseman Brent Seabrook, right wing Corey Perry, and forward Pierre Edouard-Bellmare all joined the Lightning via free agency. Perry and Edouard-Bellmare can give the Lightning some offense and wake of its high-powered third line disappearing. Seabrook will start the season on injured reserve.
Lightning third-line players Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman, Tyler Johnson, and Yanni Gourde all departed along with defenseman Luke Schenn. Coleman, Goodrow, Gourde, and Johnson combined for 45 goals last season.
Tampa Bay gets right wing Nikita Kucherov back healthy in addition to all of the other talent surrounding him. The Lightning also have leading scorer and center Brayden Point back along with center Steven Stamkos, the second leading scorer on last season’s squad. Point scored 23 goals and assisted on 25 in 56 games. Stamkos posted 17 goals and a17 assists in 38 games. Kucherov scored 33 goals and assisted on 52 in the 2019-2020 season, the last time he was healthy for the majority of a season.
The Lightning also have left wing Ondrej Palat back after a 46-point season. The team also returns right wing Alex Killorn, who put up 33 points, and center Anthony Cirelli, who tallied 22 points.
Tampa also has the anchor of its defense back in Victor Hedman, who had 45 points last season.
The Lightning could get a big season from forward Alex Barre-Boulet, who NBC Sports’ Adram Gretz projects as a breakout player. Boulet “seems to fit the profile to be the next player to emerge from their fam system,” Gretz wrote.
Of course, the Lightning have Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal. The star goalie shut down teams in the playoffs last season with a 1.90 goals allowed average and a .937 save percentage. He had a strong regular season with 2.21 goals allowed per game, a .925 save percentage, and a 31-10-0 record.
Tampa will have to overcome fatigue to hoist the Stanley Cup again. The Lightning won its first Stanley Cup in the Edmonton bubble in October 2020 and began playing again in early 2021, only to end with the Cup again on July 7. With the third line turnover, depth will be a concern for the Lightning.
In addition, no team has won three straight titles in 40 seasons. The Islanders won four straight from 1980 to 1983.
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How to Watch Tampa Bay Lightning Games Without Cable