The 2025 Stanley Cup Finals are set to get underway Wednesday night between the Edmonton Oilers and the defending champion Florida Panthers. It'll be a rematch of last year's final where the latter successfully fended off the Oilers from completing a furious seven-game comeback after being up 3-0 early in the series.
This is just the 12th time in NHL history where two teams will meet in the final in consecutive years. The last was in 2009 when the Pittsburgh Penguins avenged their 2008 Stanley Cup Final loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Edmonton will be looking to repeat history in that exact fashion.
That kind of storyline will draw eyeballs galore for the NHL, especially with how well last year's series went. The 2024 final was the most watched since 2013 (Chicago Blackhawks over the Boston Bruins) with 4.2 million viewers in the U.S. That was a 58 percent increase from 2023.
Stanley Cup Finals 2025 schedule and streaming options
Turner Sports has the rights to the 2025 Stanley Cup Finals in the U.S., broadcasting the best-of-seven games series on TNT and TruTV for cable users. Canadian viewers will find it on Sportsnet.
If you're a cord cutter, you can stream the series on the Max app or through YouTube TV & Sling TV with a subscription. Game 1 is scheduled to drop puck at 8pm ET on Wednesday, followed by Game 2 at the same time on Friday.
Can you watch the Stanley Cup Finals for free?
Of course, if you're not looking to shell out the cash for a subscription to any of those services, you can always utilize their free trial options. Those are typically seven days long but this series, if it were to need all seven games, will go longer than just a single week.
If you've got multiple emails, that shouldn't be a problem to just workaround the end of the trial period and start a new one.
How to stream the Finals on mobile and smart TVs
Max, YouTube TV and Sling TV all have their own respective apps that can be downloaded onto your mobile device or smart television.
You'll need login information acquired either via subscription or a free trial. Sling TV viewers can pick either of the Orange or Blue plans to access Stanley Cup Finals coverage.
If you happen to already subscribe to TNT or truTV through your cable package but can't access your television at puck drop, both channels have their own apps too. The games can also be streamed via their websites (TNTDrama.com & truTV.com).