Tampa Bay Lightning’s National Broadcast Schedule for 2025-26
The 2025-26 NHL season is approaching, and another sign that it’s on the horizon is the release of the national TV schedule. The Tampa Bay Lightning will have 15 nationally-televised games between the TNT and ESPN platforms.
Here is your deep dive and TV guide for these nationally televised games.
Lightning Games on ABC, ESPN Channels
Eight Lightning games will air on the Disney-owned outlets.
The first game on national television featuring the Lightning will be their road game against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 14. The main ESPN channel will air the game, which has a 7 p.m. puck drop.
A major highlight is that Alex Ovechkin is still in pursuit of being the first NHL player to reach 900 goals. He sits at 897, just three away from the mark. Given that it’ll be the fourth game of the season, the chance of this moment coming during this game is high, likely prompting ESPN to schedule it.
Other games on the ESPN channels feature matchups with rivals or other star players in the NHL. Two of their matchups with the Boston Bruins will air to a national audience. One is the upcoming Stadium Series game that will air on ESPN (time TBD) and another is a bout in Boston on April 11 at 12:30 p.m. This will lead off an ABC Hockey Tripleheader.
ESPN+ will carry one of the Lightning’s games against State rival Florida Panthers. Despite the Panthers once again being Stanley Cup champions, this one is a streaming exclusive.
The Lightning will have an ESPN+ exclusive matchup against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Both of the games against the Chicago Blackhawks will be an ESPN exclusive. The game in Tampa on Oct. 23 will be on ESPN+ at 6:45 p.m., while the game in Chicago on Jan. 23 will air on the main ESPN channel at 7 p.m. Lightning fans looking to catch Connor Bedard will need access to ESPN.
To round things out, the Lightning will play an ESPN+ exclusive game against the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Lightning Games on TNT
Seven Lightning games will air on TNT.
This slate is very Western Conference-heavy, with five featuring an opponent from the West.
Two of those matchups are former Stanley Cup Finals matchups: The Dallas Stars (2020 Stanley Cup win) and the Colorado Avalanche (2022 Stanley Cup Final loss). The Stars’ matchup on Oct. 30 will be the first Lightning game to air on TNT with a 7 p.m. puck drop in Tampa. The matchup with Colorado will come second on Nov. 4 with a 9:30 puck drop in Denver.
Both of the Lightning’s Eastern Conference games will come back-to-back. They’ll play the New York Rangers on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
After that, it’s Western slate the rest of the way.
The Lightning will head to St. Paul, Mn., to take on the Minnesota Wild on March 3 for a 9:30 p.m. puck drop. On March 17, it’s a 10 p.m. puck drop against the Seattle Kraken on the road. Another matchup with the Wild will wrap up the Lightning’s TNT slate for the regular season.
Keep in mind that come playoff time, there will be more games on either ESPN or TNT. The Stanley Cup Final this season will be on ESPN. Of course, this is getting ahead of ourselves, but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t necessarily end here; this is just what you need to know for the time being.
