ITV4 will broadcast select NHL games free-to-air, expanding access to the world’s top ice hockey league for viewers in the United Kingdom.
The new agreement opens with the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Minnesota Wild at 17:30 on Saturday (17 January).
Further details on the number of games to be broadcast and the schedule are expected to be confirmed at a later date, with Premier Sports continuing to carry the Fastenal-backed European Game of the Week slot on Sundays.
The announcement comes amid changes to NHL coverage in the UK this season.
The league’s official streaming service, NHL TV, moved to DAZN ahead of the current campaign, requiring fans to access games through an additional platform.
Preview: Watch Buffalo Sabres versus Minnesota Wild for free on ITV4
The Sabres have won eight of their last ten games and enter Saturday’s showdown as one of the NHL’s hottest squads.
Buffalo, 26-16-4 on the season, are fourth in the Atlantic Division and currently hold the Eastern Conference’s first wildcard playoff berth.
Tage Thompson’s recent production has been a key factor in the Sabres’ upward mobility.
Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres (Image: NHL)
The American has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his last five games, including a hattrick in a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens, another playoff-chasing squad.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is Buffalo’s projected starter against the Wild.
The Finn is 10-6-1 on the season, with a .901 save percentage.
Minnesota arrive in upstate New York hoping to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Wild, 26-13-9 on the season, are 4-3-3 over their last ten games and have lost crucial ground to the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche at the top of the Central Division.
Even so, Bill Guerin’s squad are nine points clear of the Utah Mammoth and firmly on course to look in a divisional ticket to the postseason.
Quinn Hughes is Minnesota’s player to watch.
The American Olympian-to-be has 16 points (one goal, 15 assists) in 16 games since the Vancouver Canucks dealt him to the Wild in one of the most consequential trades in recent history.
According to the sports betting odds, the Sabres are 3/4 favourites for this evening’s clash.
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