The Chicago Blackhawks host the San Jose Sharks tonight, and the game is about to start. It’s at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised locally on NBC Sports Chicago (Blackhawks markets) and NBC Sports California (Sharks markets).
Fortunately, whether you live in or out of market, there are some ways you can watch a live stream of the Blackhawks vs Sharks. Here’s a rundown of all your options.
For those who live in the Blackhawks or Sharks markets, DirecTV Stream is our recommendation. The “Choice” package includes both NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports California in local markets, plus it comes with 100-plus other channels, including TNT (every package) and NHL Network (“Ultimate” package and up), and includes Max, Paramount+ With Showtime, Starz, MGM+ and Cinemax for the first three months at no extra cost. And perhaps most importantly, it comes with a free trial, so you can watch the Blackhawks vs Sharks at no cost.
If you live outside of the Blackhawks or Sharks markets, your best and only option is ESPN+, which lets you watch every out-of-market NHL game during the regular season. There’s no ESPN+ free trial, but it costs just $11 per month (or $15 for the ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ bundle) and includes dozens of live sports in addition to NHL and a massive library of sports documentaries and other original content.
For in-market viewers, both Fubo and YouTube TV include NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports California in local markets and come with a free trial. If you also want to watch nationally televised NHL games on TNT, TBS, truTV or HLN, it’s worth noting that YouTube TV has those channels but Fubo does not.
If you live elsewhere in the United States, ESPN+ has exclusive broadcast rights to out-of-market games, and ESPN+ no longer offers a free trial.
Your final option for watching a live stream of the Blackhawks vs Sharks is Hulu With Live TV, which includes NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports California in local markets. It doesn’t come with a free trial, and it costs $77 per month, but if you’re looking for a good long-term streaming service that lets you watch as much NHL as possible, this is probably the best option, as it comes with ESPN, ABC, TNT, TBS and truTV, plus it includes access to ESPN+ (which has every out-of-market game) at no extra cost.
If you need a VPN, which hides your location and allows you to stream US-only sites even if you’re traveling outside of the country, NordVPN is certainly one of the best options. It’s simple, offers lots of protection and doesn’t limit speed, allowing you to stream the game uninterrupted. Moreover, NordVPN, which can cost as low as $4 per month if you sign up long-term, offers a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try it out at no risk.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.