Oh, baby! The best postseason is officially here.
Sixteen NHL teams will battle it out for the greatest trophy in all of sports: the Stanley Cup. How it’ll all play out is a little different in 2021: the four best teams in each division will face each other (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3 in Round 1) and the eventual division champs will meet in the Stanley Cup semifinals. The last two teams standing will then go head-to-head in the Stanley Cup Final.
Here’s everything to know about watching NHL playoff games in 2021, including a complete TV schedule with start times and channels for every series.
MORE: Watch NHL playoff games live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
NHL playoff games today
Here’s the full schedule of NHL playoff games for today:
Monday, May 17
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 2: Bruins at Capitals | 7:30 p.m ET | NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Predators at Hurricanes | 8 p.m. ET | CNBC, SNE, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Blues at Avalanche | 10 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN1, TVA Sports |
Check out SN’s scoreboard for the latest results.
STANLEY CUP PREDICTIONS: Sporting News’ 2021 NHL playoff picks
NHL playoffs 2021: TV channels, live stream
- TV (U.S.): NBC, NBCSN, USA, CNBC, NHLN
- TV (Canada): Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, CBC, FX, FXX and OMNI
- Stream (U.S.): NBC Sports.com | fuboTV (free trial)
- Stream (Canada): SN Now, SN NOW+, NHL Live
- Playoff results: SN Scoreboard
The 2021 postseason marks the final year NBC’s family of networks will broadcast games on the NHL’s road to the Stanley Cup. First-round games will be shown on NHL Network and across NBC channels in the United States, while in Canada games will be shown on FX, FXX, Sportsnet’s channels and CBC.
In Canada, Chris Cuthbert and Craig Simpson will describe the Maple Leafs-Canadiens series while Harnarayan Singh and Louie DeBrusk will bring fans Oilers-Jets. David Amber and Ron McLean will be the studio anchors and will be joined by a rotating crew of analysts and insiders.
NBC will also employ a rotating crew that will include play-by-play announcers Kenny Albert, John Forslund and Brendan Burke and analysts Eddie Olczyk, AJ Mleczko and Dominic Moore.
NHL playoff bracket 2021
NHL schedule 2021
The first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs started on Saturday, May 15, and, if it runs the full gamut, will end on Monday, May 31.
*If necessary
Round 1
Saturday, May 15
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 1: Bruins at Capitals | 7:15 p.m. ET | NBC, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
Sunday, May 16
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 1: Islanders at Penguins | Noon ET | NBC, SN, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Wild at Golden Knights | 3 p.m. ET | NBC, SN, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Lightning at Panthers | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports |
Predictions, breakdowns, odds: CENTRAL DIVISION | EAST DIVISION | WEST DIVISION
Monday, May 17
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 2: Bruins at Capitals | 7:30 p.m ET | NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Predators at Hurricanes | 8 p.m. ET | CNBC, SNE, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Blues at Avalanche | 10 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN1, TVA Sports |
Tuesday, May 18
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 2: Islanders at Penguins | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
| Game 2: Lightning at Panthers | 8 p.m. ET | CNBC, SNE, TVA Sports |
| Game 2: Wild at Golden Knights | 10 p.m.ET | NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports |
Wednesday, May 19
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 3: Capitals at Bruins | 6:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SNE, SNO, SNP, SN360, TVA Sports |
| Game 2: Predators at Hurricanes | 8 p.m. ET | CNBC, FX-CA, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Jets at Oilers | 9 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
| Game 2: Blues at Avalanche | 10:30 p.m. ET | CNBC, SN360, TVA Sports |
Thursday, May 20
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 3: Panthers at Lightning | 6:30 p.m. ET | USA, FX-CA, TVA Sports |
| Game 3: Penguins at Islanders | 7 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sports |
| Game 1: Canadiens at Maple Leafs | 7:30 p.m. ET | NHL Network, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
| Game 3: Golden Knights at Wild | 9:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN360, TVA Sport |
Friday, May 21
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 4: Capitals at Bruins | 6:30 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SNE, SNO, SNP, SN360, TVA Sports |
| Game 3: Hurricanes at Predators | 7 p.m. ET | USA, FXX-CA, TVA Sports |
| Game 2: Jets at Oilers | 9 p.m. ET | NBCSN, SN, CBC, TVA Sports |
| Game 3: Avalanche at Blues | 9:30 p.m. ET | USA, SN360, TVA Sports |
Saturday, May 22
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 4: Panthers at Lightning | 12:30 p.m. ET | CNBC, SN, TVA Sports |
| Game 4: Penguins at Islanders | 3 p.m. ET | NBC, SN, TVA Sports |
| Game 2: Canadiens at Maple Leafs | 7 p.m. ET | CNBC, SN, CBC, TVA Sports, OMNI |
| Game 4: Golden Knights at Wild | 8 p.m. ET | NBC, SN360, TVA Sports |
Sunday, May 23
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 3: Oilers at Jets | TBD | TBD |
| Game 4: Hurricanes at Predators | TBD | TBD |
| Game 4: Avalanche at Blues | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 5: Bruins at Capitals | TBD | TBD |
Monday, May 24
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 3: Maple Leafs at Canadiens | TBD | TBD |
| Game 4: Oilers at Jets | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 5: Islanders at Penguins | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 5: Lightning at Panthers | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 5: Wild at Golden Knights | TBD | TBD |
Tuesday, May 25
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| Game 4: Maple Leafs at Canadiens | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 5: Blues at Avalanche | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 5: Predators at Hurricanes | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 6: Capitals at Bruins | TBD | TBD |
Wednesday, May 26
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| *Game 5: Jets at Oilers | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 6: Panthers at Lightning | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 6: Golden Knights at Wild | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 6: Penguins at Islanders | TBD | TBD |
Thursday, May 27
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| *Game 5: Canadiens at Maple Leafs | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 6: Avalanche at Blues | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 6: Hurricanes at Predators | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 7: Bruins at Capitals | TBD | TBD |
Friday, May 28
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| *Game 6: Oilers at Jets | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 7: Lightning at Panthers | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 7: Wild at Golden Knights | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 7: Islanders at Penguins | TBD | TBD |
Saturday, May 29
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| *Game 6: Maple Leafs at Canadiens | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 7: Predators at Hurricanes | TBD | TBD |
| *Game 7: Blues at Avalanche | TBD | TBD |
Sunday, May 30
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| *Game 7: Jets at Oilers | TBD | TBD |
Sunday, May 30
| Matchup | Time | TV channel |
| *Game 7: Canadiens at Maple Leafs | TBD | TBD |