Getty Sidney Crosby will miss the start of the regular season but looks to get the Penguins back to the playoffs afterward.
While the Pittsburgh Penguins will start the 2021-22 season without aging superstar Sidney Crosby, the team with the longest Stanley Cup playoff appearance streak still can’t go overlooked.
In 2021-22, most Penguins games will be televised in local markets on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, while some games will be nationally televised on NHL Network (usually out of market only, but those will also be on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh), 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 Penguins market or somewhere else in the United States, here’s a full rundown of the different ways you can watch every Penguins 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 Penguins Market
Note: A couple Penguins 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 options are for how to watch all other in-market games:
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (local markets), ESPN, NHL Network and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV. AT&T SportsNet and ESPN are included in the “Starter” package, while NHL Network can be added with either the “Extra” or “Sports Plus” add-on.
The base channel package and any add-ons can be included in your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Penguins games 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
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, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (local markets) is in “Choice” and up, and NHL Network is in “Ultimate” and up.
This is the only streaming service with all four of AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, ESPN, TNT and NHL Network:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Penguins 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 Penguins 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 Penguins 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.
Penguins 2021-22 Season Preview
Pittsburgh has dealt with a plethora of injuries many times before and still made noise in the postseason as The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn noted. Facing off without centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin doesn’t spell disaster for the Penguins though those two are the “heart and soul” of the team, Luszczyszyn wrote.
Crosby, who had wrist surgery in September, is in the midst of a six-week absence from the ice. The Penguins anticipate he will be back after the first week of the regular season according to Sporting News’ Dani Mohr. Pittsburgh opens the season on Oct. 12 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Malkin is out “at least the first two months of the season” after knee surgery in June according to The Athletic. He originally injured his knee in March and missed the last six weeks of the regular season.
Pittsburgh’s best hope for waiting out Crosby and Malkins’ absences falls on center Jeff Carter’s shoulders per Luszczyszyn. Carter joined the team last season via a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. He had 17 goals and 13 assists in the regular season and four goals and an assists in the playoffs last season.
The Penguins will also look for a stronger showing form left wing Jason Zucker. He posted his lowest totals for goals and assists last season since the 2013-2014 campaign.
Pittsburg also added physicality among forwards with the signing of Brock McGinn according to NHL.com’s Wes Crosby. Left wing Jake Guentzel will help, too, after lifting hard this offseason, Crosby wrote.
Pittsburgh didn’t take a step forward on the other end in goaltending with both Tristan Jarry and backup Casey DeSmith on the roster, Pro Hockey Talk’s Adam Gretz wrote. Jarry didn’t have a strong showing the Penguins’ first round exit during last season’s playoffs, Gretz noted.
On defense, the Penguins will look for a breakout season by Pierre-Oliver Joseph per NHL.com. Joseph impressed in his first NHL action last season with a goal and 12 assists in 16 games.
Pittsburgh has veteran defenseman Kris Letang back, but he may not help much offensively in the absence of Crosby and Malkin, Luszczyszyn noted.
Scheduling may favor the Penguins as they have the advantage of playing “a home-heavy” slate early on before Crosby and Malkin return per The Athletic’s Rob Rossi.