NHL Stanley Cup Finals 2020: How to watch the Stars vs. Lightning today without cable - CNET

The NHL Finals matchup is set. After the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs with 24 teams in two hub cities, two warm-weather teams remain, which seems fitting for a hockey playoffs that got underway in August. The Dallas Stars won the Western Conference in five games against the top-seeded Vegas Golden Knights, and the Tampa Bay Lightning took six games to get by the New York Islanders in the East. 

The Stars and Lightning will play in the hub city of Edmonton in a seven-game series for the right to hoist the Stanley Cup. It'll be the second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history for either team. 

The puck drops for Game 1 on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) on NBC. Here's what cord-cutters need to know to watch all the Stanley Cup Finals action.

How can I watch the NHL Finals without cable?

The best-of-seven series starts Saturday, and Game 7 will be played, if necessary, on Sept. 30. Five games are scheduled to be broadcast on NBC, with games 2 and 3 on NBCSN. Here's the TV broadcast schedule (all times ET):

• Game 1: Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC 
• Game 2: Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on NBCSN
• Game 3: Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. on NBCSN
• Game 4: Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. on NBC
• Game 5*: Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. on NBC
• Game 6*: Monday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. on NBC
• Game 7*: Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. on NBC

(*if necessary)

Read more: NBA Finals: How to watch live games without cable

You don't need cable or satellite TV to watch the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC and NBCSN. Both channels are offered on all five of the major live TV streaming services. Not every service carries your local NBC station, however, so check the links below to make sure.

Alternatively, if you live in an area with good reception, you can watch most of the series -- all but games 2 and 3 -- on NBC for free on over-the-air broadcast channels just by attaching an affordable (under $30) indoor antenna to nearly any TV.  

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