The NHL launched its national television schedule and the Florida Panthers, winners of the defending Presidents Trophy, will be on national television twice during the 2021-22 season.
Florida will have two games broadcast on TNT, its home opener on Oct. 19 against the Philadelphia Flyers and Dec. 21 against the New Jersey Devils, and five exclusive games on ESPN+ and Hulu.
The Panthers won’t have any regular-season games televised on ESPN or ABC this season, at least not yet.
Last year, Florida was left off the national TV slate entirely, but some of its games were added later in the season after its strong start.
That included a Feb. 16 matchup with the Caroline Hurricanes that was transferred to TNT after an outbreak of COVID-19 postponed games before the NHL’s December break. With the relaxation of COVID restrictions, that will not be a luxury that will be allowed in Florida.
With the current design of the games, eight will have a national broadcast team, while 74 will be broadcast by Steve Goldstein, Randy Moller, Jessica Blaylock and the rest of the Bally Sports Florida team.
The All-Star Game and Skills Competition, hosted by the Panthers, will air on ABC and ESPN+ on February 3-4.
All out-of-market NHL games will be included with an ESPN+ subscription for customers in the United States for the second consecutive season. Customers in Canada can get out-of-market games with a Sportsnet NOW Premium Membership.
ESPN will broadcast 103 exclusive games during the 2022-23 season, while Turner will have a 62-game slate, pending the games airing on national television.
In addition to the national television slate, the NHL made some changes to the league’s start times. Nine Panthers games were affected by the changes.
Those games are Oct. 21 vs. Tampa Bay (7:30 p.m.), Oct. 25 in Chicago (8:30 p.m.), Nov. 26 vs. St. Louis (6:30 p.m.), Dec. 8 vs. Detroit (7:30 pm), December 10 at Tampa Bay (4:30 pm), December 17 at New Jersey (7:30 pm), December 30 at Carolina (7:30 pm), January 8 at Dallas (3:30 p.m.), and March 18 vs. New Jersey (6 p.m.).
Exclusive national TV/ESPN+ games
October 19 – Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers (TNT, 7:30 p.m.)
Oct. 21 — Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m.)
November 3: Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks (ESPN+, 10:30 p.m.)
December 8: Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m.)
Dec. 13: Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers (ESPN+, 7 p.m.)
December 21: New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers (TNT, 7 p.m.)
December 30: Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m.)
*All times are Eastern Standard Time.
