The Flyers are going to be in the national window plenty in 2026-27.
The NHL’s broadcast schedule for ESPN networks and TNT gives Philadelphia 19 games on the big stage, more than every team in the league except the Pittsburgh Penguins. That puts the Flyers right in the middle of a season when Xfinity Mobile Arena will be under a bright spotlight, with the 76ers also drawing a heavy national TV load.
The opener is part of that spotlight right away. Philadelphia’s season begins at home against Pittsburgh on TNT, and that meeting was already set to be a nationwide broadcast. It will be the first matchup between the teams since Cam York’s series-ending overtime winner, and it’s now joined by 18 more Flyers games that will air nationally.
The Flyers’ first road game comes the next night, Oct. 1 at the New Jersey Devils, and that one will be a streaming-only game on ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+. In all, four Flyers games won’t appear on traditional TV: Oct. 1 at New Jersey, Oct. 15 at the Detroit Red Wings, Dec. 3 at home against the New York Islanders and Jan. 28 at home against the Los Angeles Kings.
October is packed with exposure. After the Devils game, the Flyers also go national on Oct. 21 at the Buffalo Sabres and Oct. 28 against the Washington Capitals.
That gives them five national broadcasts in the month. Then comes a long quiet stretch: no national games in November, and no non-streaming national TV game from Oct. 28 until Jan. 31, aside from a Dec. 16 matchup with the New York Rangers on TNT.
That Jan. 31 game is the first of four ABC appearances on the schedule, and it comes against Pittsburgh again. It’s set as a Sunday noon matinee before the NFL’s conference championship games.
February brings another run of marquee matchups. The Flyers host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 3 on TNT, then visit the Dallas Stars on Feb. 18 on ESPN.
They also go back to Tampa Bay on March 25 on ESPN+. Those games stand out because both opponents have had the Flyers’ number in recent seasons, which should add another layer of attention around those nights.
The month also includes two more national broadcasts at home: a Saturday matinee with the Rangers on ABC on Feb. 20 and a Wednesday night TNT game against the Sabres.
March keeps the national slate rolling with a Sunday afternoon game against the St. Louis Blues on TNT, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on March 7.
The Flyers close the regular season the same way they open it, with national exposure late. Their final two games - and four of their last five - are set for national networks. That can still shift, as TNT did this season when it picked up the Flyers’ Easter Sunday game against the Boston Bruins because of its playoff implications, even though NBC Sports Philadelphia and NESN also carried local broadcasts.
One game is locked in no matter what: the regular-season finale. ABC will carry Philadelphia’s last game, which could be the final regular-season game - and maybe the final career game - for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Capitals and Flyers have gone head-to-head for a playoff spot in two of the last three seasons, with each team edging the other once.
Locally, nothing changes. NBC Sports Philadelphia will again handle all of the Flyers’ regional broadcasts. Jim Jackson and Brian Boucher have both spent time on national assignments for good reason, and they’ll be back on local TV as the regular voices for Flyers fans.
The radio side looks the same, too. Despite the NHL’s growing embrace of simulcasts, there’s no sign the Flyers are headed down that path. Tim Saunders and Todd Fedoruk are expected to continue calling games on 97.5 The Fanatic.
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Penguins Outlook Gives Fans A Real Reason To Argue Again
The Penguins offseason has already given their fan base plenty to pick at, and the latest round of league-wide noise only adds to it. Around the NHL, big-money contract news and trade chatter have become the backdrop for a lot of the summer conversation, but in Pittsburgh the real issue is less about headlines elsewhere and more about what kind of season this roster can still build for itself.
Optimists can point to enough to believe theres a path back into the mix, while the skeptics see a team that has been through too many uneven stretches to assume a clean rebound. That split is exactly what makes the coming year interesting for the Penguins, because every development seems to invite a different reading, and the arguments are already starting up again. [Read more 🡒]
