How to watch NHL Playoffs without cable: Schedule, streams and more

How to watch the 2023 NHL Playoffs with and without cable complete with a playoff schedule, bracket, NHL streams and more for hockey fans. 

A historic season from the Boston Bruins, the first-even Seattle Kraken postseason, a repeat bid from the Colorado Avalanche, and so much more — the 2023 NHL Playoffs figure to be a wild ride from start to finish.

The format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs has gotten shaken up a bit. Every series in the postseason will be a best-of-7 affair in 2023 but the structure of how the seeding was done in each conference is odd in comparison to others sports’ postseasons. The division winner with the most points in each conference got to face the lowest wild card team while the division winner with the fewest points got to face the best of the two wild card teams. There will be no reseeding after the first round either.

Playoff hockey is a different animal altogether, so you’ll want to watch. Here’s how you can do that for the 2023 NHL Playoffs, no matter what.

2023 NHL Playoff bracket: Schedule, matchups

First Round (April 17-May 1)

• Eastern Conference: (1) Boston Bruins vs. (WC2) Florida Panthers
• Eastern Conference: (2) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (3) Tampa Bay Lightning
• Eastern Conference: (1) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (WC1) New York Islanders
• Eastern Conference: (2) New Jersey Devils vs. (3) New York Rangers
• Western Conference: (1) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (WC2) Winnipeg Jets
• Western Conference: (2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings
• Western Conference: (1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (WC1) Seattle Kraken
• Western Conference: (2) Dallas Stars vs. (3) Minnesota Wild

As for the rest of the 2023 NHL Playoffs schedule, that is not yet determined. The Stanley Cup Playoffs shuffle their schedule based on the lengths of the preceding series in the round before. What we do know is that there is a tentative start date for the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday, June 3, though that date too is subject to change.

Where to watch 2023 NHL Playoffs: TV channel, streams and more

Every game in the 2023 NHL Playoffs will either be on TBS, TNT or the ESPN family of networks. Hockey fans can stream the TBS and TNT games through TBS.com and WatchTNT when you log in with a valid cable or satellite subscription. There is also the option to subscribe to FuboTV, which offers a 7-day free trial to new users. As for the ESPN games, fans can log in on WatchESPN and the ESPN app with a cable or satellite subscription or subscribe to ESPN+ to stream.

Free NHL streams for Stanley Cup Playoffs

For fans who are unable to subscribe or stream the Stanley Cup Playoffs through traditional methods, if you were to search for “NHL streameast”, you should be pointed in the right direction to be able to stream the playoff hockey games. Be warned, though, there is no protection with these streams and issues like ads and buffering can create an unideal viewing experience at times.