NHL Frozen Frenzy: Tonight is OUR Night
By Scott Lowe – MYHockeyRankings.com
For hockey enthusiasts in the United States, tonight is supposed to be our night.
It’s a random Tuesday in October, and all 32 National Hockey League teams will be in action, with game times staggered to make it relatively easy to catch at least decent-sized chunks of each contest.
It’s “relatively” easy for those of us in the U.S. who have access to ESPN, ESPN+ or Disney+, because that’s where the games are being aired. For anyone who can’t access those platforms, however, it’s probably relatively annoying.
As we prepare for the third edition of the NHL’s Frozen Frenzy, that pretty much sums up the hockey viewing experience ever since ESPN acquired NHL broadcast rights in 2021, inking a deal that expires in 2028. There was a palpable buzz when ESPN signed back on to carry NHL games four years ago – as was discussed right here in this space – but since then, almost everything about the partnership has been a letdown.
In those four years, viewers have complained widely about not having access to the games involving their local teams or the teams they follow closely, having to add more paid streaming platforms to watch games they previously would have been able to view without paying extra, stand-alone “national” games that only are available via streaming, poor sound and production quality, sub-par announcers and advertisements taking so long to buffer that people end up watching what amounts to a delayed broadcast when game action resumes.
Some of these complaints boil down to poor promotion of the sport on the various ESPN. Fans often tune in to their local or regional sports network to watch the home team play on a given night only to discover that the game is being aired exclusively via an ESPN+ webstream.
While it was reported that ESPN paid as much as $400 million per year for the right to televise NHL games, it’s been clear since Day 1 that the league is not one of it’s more-valued properties. On this day, when ESPN makes a full commitment to hockey and provides viewers access to games involving every team in the league, a visit to ESPN.com shows exactly where the NHL stands with the Worldwide Leader.
The NHL is buried below World Series, NFL, college football and NBA content. There is content in multiple formats for each of those sports before anything about the Frozen Frenzy is visible, and there isn’t even a headline, promotional banner or sidebar promoting what is supposed to be one of the NHL on ESPN’s marquee nights.
In fact, there are nine sidebar headlines on the right side of the page without any mention of the NHL and more than 30 content blocks in the website’s most-visible center area before there is any mention of the Frozen Frenzy. There is one obscure text link on top of the left side of the page in the “Watch on ESPN” section.
Again, this is not unusual for how ESPN has treated the NHL since acquiring the league’s broadcast rights. On a given day, the link to the website’s NHL coverage may disappear from the website’s top navigation bar only to be found by clicking on the “More” dropdown icon. Meanwhile, it is common to see more prominent links for the WNBA, women’s college basketball, soccer and golf.
Of all days, today it would seem logical for ESPN to go all out to promote its biggest evening of regular-season hockey, a night that has been heralded by hockey diehards, casual fans, new fans and even the media as groundbreaking and refreshing on one of the less-busy sports evenings during a time when all four major North American professional sports leagues are in action.
That has not been the case, however.
There has been very little promotion of the Frozen Frenzy by either the NHL or ESPN. The NHL finally got around to making a few posts on X about it Tuesday morning, while the main ESPN X account has posted nothing.
ESPN on-air personality John Buccigross remains the network’s most vocal and visible NHL proponent, and he once again will anchor the Frozen Frenzy studio coverage Tuesday night. A nondescript press release from ESPN that was posted online barely a day in advance is about the only official promotion by the network other than one article with betting tips for the games and a couple other less-than-in-depth preview articles.
None of this really matters to hockey fans, though, as they usually find a way to watch the sport they love, and tonight provides them with more hockey than even the most rabid fan possibly can consume. If it requires borrowing a friend’s ESPN+ password or signing up for a free week of Disney+ programming, for those who love hockey tonight is the night.
The timing of the Frozen Frenzy, with some teams 11 games into their seasons, also is perfect for fans as there has been a large enough sample size of results to have an idea of which teams might be legitimate contenders and which teams might surprise the experts and make an unexpected playoff run. There also is the possibility that some history will be made and career milestones will be achieved.
Frozen Frenzy Highlights
Those who want to see a matchup of top teams to date can tune into ESPN+ at 9 p.m. Eastern for the contest between the East and Metropolitan Division’s top team, the New Jersey Devils (8-1-0), and the Colorado Avalanche (5-1-4). Consensus Stanley Cup-contenders Carolina (6-2-0) and Vegas (5-1-3) also face off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Anyone who is curious about what’s going on in Utah can check out the Western Conference-leading Mammoth (8-2-0) as they take on Edmonton (4-4-2), also on ESPN+ at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Alex Ovechkin is sitting on career goal 899, so fans who hope to witness him make history yet again can tune in as the Capitals (6-3-0) travel to Dallas to face the Stars (5-3-1) at 8:30 p.m. ET as part of a national tripleheader on ESPN.
That national trio of games on ESPN begins at 6 p.m. as the surprising Penguins (7-2-1) and Sidney Crosby, fresh off recording his 1,700th career point, travel to Philadelphia to take on what appears to be an energized and improved Flyers club that is 4-3-1. \
The third ESPN national game of the evening features the Kings (4-3-3) and San Jose (2-5-2) at 11 p.m. ET from the Shark Tank in Northern California. Longtime Los Angeles star and captain Anze Kopitar is playing his final season, so the Kings will be must-see TV tonight and throughout the season.
Detroit has been one of the surprise teams of the early season, and the Red Wings (6-3-0) will be tested in an 8:15 p.m. ET ESPN+ matchup against a scuffling St. Louis Blues team (3-5-1) desperate to right the ship. If Detroit can figure out its goaltending situation, the deep group of Wings forwards including Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, rookie sensation Emmitt Finnie, Alex DeBrincat and future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane might rekindle memories of the team’s glory days.
Meanwhile, the start to No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer’s career with the New York Islanders has exceeded any reasonable expectations as the Isles (4-3-1) ship up to Boston for a 7:15 p.m. ET tilt on ESPN+ against the struggling Bruins (4-7-0) and perennial superstar David Pastrnak, who is four goals shy of 400 for his career.
Toronto’s John Tavares also is chasing a milestone as he looks to pot his 500th career goal when the Maple Leafs (4-4-1) and Calgary (2-7-1) go head-to-head on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET. The Flames hope to get their league-worst offense in gear after averaging just two goals per game through their first 10 contests.
Care to see how the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions in South Florida manage to carry on without injured stars Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov? Head over to ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET to see the Panthers (5-5-0) square off against another surprising club, the 4-3-1 Ducks of Anaheim. Veteran pest Brad Marchand has continued his hot play from last postseason, leading Florida with five goals and 11 points, while imposing Ducks 2023 No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson has paced the quack attack with nine points in eight outings.
For those who can’t make up their minds, ESPN once again is providing RedZone Channel-style whip-around coverage of all the games starting at 6 p.m. ET, with Buccigross and Kevin Weekes narrating the action. The whip-around studio show can be seen on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+ from 6-7:30 p.m. ET and on ESPN+ and Disney+ the rest of the night.
Three of the evening’s matchups can be seen on the ESPN mothership, with the other 13 available via ESPN+ (and Disney+). Game times are staggered to provide between 15 and 30 minutes between opening puck drops.
ESPN’s coverage gets underway at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+ with a Frozen Frenzy preview show hosted by Steve Levy with Mark Messier, T.J. Oshie and Emily Kaplan on The Point.
Not every game will be available nationally in Canada – nor is the ESPN whip-around studio show - so Canadian viewers should check their local and regional listings for Tuesday night’s NHL game schedule. TSN is airing four regional game broadcasts, while various other contests can be viewed via Sportsnet.
2025 NHL Frozen Frenzy Schedule
4:00 p.m. ET
The Point preview show on ESPN2 & ESPN+
6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET
Frozen Frenzy Whip-Around Coverage on ESPN2, ESPN+ & Disney+
Penguins at Flyers on ESPN
Flames at Maple Leafs on ESPN+
6:30 p.m. ET
Golden Knights at Hurricanes on ESPN+
6:45 p.m. ET
Blue Jackets at Sabres on ESPN+
7:00 p.m. ET
Ducks at Panthers on ESPN+
7:15 p.m. ET
Islanders at Bruins on ESPN+
7:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET
Frozen Frenzy Whip-Around Coverage on ESPN+ & Disney+
7:45 p.m. ET
Lightning at Predators on ESPN+
8 p.m. ET
Jets at Wild on ESPN+
8:15 p.m. ET
Red Wings at Blues on ESPN+
8:30 p.m.
Capitals at Stars on ESPN
8:45 p.m. ET
Senators at Blackhawks on ESPN+
9:00 p.m. ET
Devils at Avalanche on ESPN+
9:30 p.m. ET
Mammoth at Oilers on ESPN+
10:00 p.m. ET
Rangers at Canucks on ESPN+
10:30 p.m. ET
Canadiens at Kraken on ESPN+
11:00 p.m. ET
Kings at Sharks on ESPN
