Kings to appear 13 times on NHL’s national broadcast schedule

More news to report on this year’s schedule today, Insiders!

The LA Kings will have 13 games featured on the NHL’s national broadcast schedule for 2024-25, including eight contests on the ESPN family of networks and another five that will appear on TNT.

Two of those ESPN occurrences will come via exclusive streaming rights, which means Bally Sports West should be set to televise 69 games this season. The full regional broadcast schedule for fans in the LA area will be announced at a later date, while those outside of the regional market can watch the rest of the schedule via ESPN+.

A look at the breakdown of national games is below –

ESPN
October 22 – Kings @ Golden Knights
October 29 – Kings @ Sharks
March 27 – Kings @ Avalanche
March 30 – Kings vs. Sharks
April 14 – Kings @ Oilers
April 15 – Kings @ Kraken

The Kings will more than double their appearances on the worldwide leader this season compared to last year’s regular season campaign when they had just three dates. The first will be just two days before they make it back to LA for their home opener in Vegas against the Golden Knights, the first national game on the team’s calendar.

It’s not a surprise to see two battles against the Sharks and recent first-overall selection Macklin Celebrini on the ESPN schedule, with the first coming on October 29 at the Shark Tank followed by a March 30 meeting at Crypto.com Arena.

ESPN’s schedule will also feature a March 27 game against Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar of the Avalanche, as well as a postseason rematch between the Kings and Oilers in Edmonton on April 14. That Oilers game is the first of a back-to-back for LA, both of which will be televised on ESPN with the back half coming in Seattle.

TNT, truTV, MAX
October 30 – Kings vs. Golden Knights
November 13 – Kings @ Avalanche
December 4 – Kings vs. Stars
January 22 – Kings vs. Panthers
February 26 – Kings vs. Canucks

All five Kings games scheduled to be shown on TNT this season will feature two teams that qualified for the postseason in 2024, including the lone trip to LA for the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in January.

Just eight days after the first Kings/Golden Knights battle of the season on ESPN, that same divisional rivalry will be featured on TNT, with the two teams clashing for a second faceoff in downtown Los Angeles.

The Kings’ first trip of the season to Colorado will also be showcased on TNT during November, as will a December 4 home contest for LA against Dallas, who is fresh off a trip to the Western Conference Final after finishing as the No. 1 team in the conference during the regular season and a point shy of the Presidents’ Trophy.

Four of the five TNT games will be shown from Crypto.com Arena, which also includes a February 26 clash against last season’s Pacific Division regular season winner in Vancouver.

ESPN+ / Hulu
December 19 – Kings @ Flyers
April 10 – Kings vs. Ducks

Lastly, the Kings will have two games exclusive to ESPN+ / Hulu, regardless of market. These games will not be broadcast on TV but can be seen exclusively via streaming on ESPN+ or Hulu. The streaming slate opens on December 19, as the Kings visit Philadelphia, and will also include an April 10 game in Anaheim.

The NHL also announced multiple game time changes as part of the national television schedule, with the Kings affected for six of their 2024-25 contests.

October 30 – Vegas @ Los Angeles – start time has changed from 7:30 pm PT to 7:00 pm PT
December 19 – Los Angeles @ Philadelphia – start time has changed from 7:00 pm ET to 7:30 pm ET
February 8 – Anaheim @ Los Angeles – start time has changed from 7:00 pm PT to 7:30 pm PT
March 27 – Los Angeles @ Colorado – start time has changed from 7:00 pm MT to 8:00 pm MT
March 30 – San Jose @ Los Angeles – start time has changed from 6:00 pm PT to 7:00 pm PT
April 10 – Anaheim @ Los Angeles – start time has changed from 7:30 pm PT to 7:00 pm PT

In addition to the forthcoming Bally Sports West schedule announcement, we are also expected to get more clarity on what the team’s training camp schedule will look like, including broadcast information for those games in the coming weeks.

The Rookie Faceoff in El Segundo is now just three weeks away, which will mark the return of hockey in Southern California this fall!