Two of the most evenly matched teams in the NHL do battle again tonight as the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning get ready for game 4 of their conference semi-final playoff series. Things are currently weighted in Tampa's favor at 2-1, after the Lightning's dramatic OT win in game 2 negated the B's opening win - a victory the Florida-based team followed up with a 7-1 demolition of the Bruins. Follow our guide to watch a Bruins vs Lightning live stream and catch the entire series online - next up is game 4 this Saturday.
Bruins vs Lightning cheat sheet
The No. 4 seeded Bruins take on No. 2 seed the Lightning in the second-round of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs this week, with the seven game series running from to August 23 to at least August 28 (game 4) and potentially September 2 (game 7). All the streaming and TV viewing options you need to watch are below - but you can jump out to an early lead right now by saving nearly 50% on ExpressVPN.
Tampa looked a lot more like the team that bossed Boston in the regular season in the last two games, with the back-to-back wins meaning they've now lost to the Bruins just twice this season - winning three of four in the regular season, a round robin game between the two, and now a pair of playoff games. That's despite the Bruins boasting an NHL-best record in the abbreviated regular season and winning the Presidents' Trophy, suggesting that the Lightning were going to be a real threat to the B's in the off-season.
Still, the Bruins are undoubtedly closer to being the team they were before lockdown, however, as their 3-2 win in the series-open proved. Few teams can compete with the Bruins' top line, with the trio of David Pastrnak (back from injury), Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand contributing two of the B's three goals on Sunday to fully live up their Perfection Line nickname - and Marchand adding another double last night.
But Tampa's strength and obvious advantage over Boston is the depth of its squad, with the Lightning's 3rd line of Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Yanni Gourde playing especially good hockey right now - Coleman scoring twice in their 4-3 win over Boston on Tuesday night.
The other main talking point this series is the goalie match-up, which sees reigning Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy in the Tampa crease, squaring-off against new Bruins starter Jaroslav Halak - the 35-year-old having served as Tuukka Rask's backup this season before Rask opted-out of the playoffs. He's a former All-Star in his own right, though, as Boston continues its tradition of having two goalies most teams would happily roll out at any time.
It's set to be a fascinating, hard-hitting series so read on as we explain how to watch the Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning online and get an NHL live stream from anywhere in the world right now.
Bruins vs Lightning: round 2 schedule and TV channels
Here's how this week's second-round NHL playoff series between Boston and Tampa Bay looks.
- Game 1: Sunday, August 23 - Bruins win 3-2
- Game 2: Tuesday, August 25 - Lightning win 4-3 (O/T)
- Game 3: Wednesday, August 26 - Lightning win 7-1
- Game 4: Saturday, August 29 at 5pm ET/12pm PT on NBC
- Game 5: TBD
- Game 6: TBD
- Game 7: TBD
How to watch NHL blackout games and more with a VPN
Whether you’re watching hockey online or on TV, blackouts can be especially annoying as you won’t be able to watch local games using the league’s streaming service NHL.tv. At the same time, your NHL.tv subscription won’t work like it normally does if you’re trying to watch some hockey when you’re out of the country.
In order to get around blackouts and other restrictions, you’ll need to use a VPN to dial in to a location back in your home country or in a different part of the country if you’re not currently traveling. A VPN is ideal for this as it allows you to change your IP address so that you appear to be in a completely different location where there isn’t currently a blackout.
VPNs are ridiculously easy to set up and use and aren't just for watching hockey abroad - they're also a great first line of defence for your online activity and many people use them to get around other geo-blocked websites or to access foreign Netflix content.
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How to get a Bruins vs Lightning live stream with NHL.tv
The best end-to-end live streaming option for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs is still NHL.tv, and coverage of Avalanche vs Stars begins at 9.45pm ET/6.45pm PT.
The league’s streaming service normally costs $115.99 for its Single Team Pass or $144.99 for its All Access Pass but due to the fact that the regular season is over and only the playoffs remain, the price of NHL.tv has been heavily reduced to just $9.99.
With NHL.tv, you’ll be able to watch the rest of the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs online for a fraction of the price you would have paid during the regular season.
Keep in mind, though, that blackout and other restrictions still apply to NHL.tv - though as we've just explained grabbing a quality VPN and following our instructions above can help you get around them.
Bruins vs Lightning live stream: how to watch the NHL playoff series in the US
The Bruins vs Lightning series is being nationally televised on NBCSN and USA, so you can also tune into the game via the NBC Sports live streaming website on desktop and mobile, but you will have to enter your cable provider’s credentials to get access to this stream.
Not got cable? There are plenty of over-the-top TV streaming services you can use instead - loads of which come with a completely free trial.
Of the many options, we recommend Sling TV for most NHL fans, as its $30 a month Blue package gets you NBC, NBCSN and USA Network - and a further $10 p/m will get you the Sports Extra add-on you need to watch the NHL Network. That's $40 in total for all the biggest hockey games this year and a whole lot more, which is considerably cheaper than the competition.
Local games will be shown on your Regional Sports Network (RSN) and this is usually either a regional Fox Sports or NBC Sports channel.
Other options include:
- Hulu - $54.99 per month - Hulu with Live TV gives you access to NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA but not the NHL Network. The service supports a wide variety of streaming devices and even includes its own Hulu Originals in case you want a break from watching hockey.
- YouTube TV - $65 per month - YouTube TV gives you access to NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA but not the NHL Network. With YouTube TV you get free unlimited DVR storage space to record games for later and you can stream the service on three devices simultaneously. A free 7-day trial is also available so you can test it out for yourself.
- AT&T TV Now - $65 per month - AT&T TV Now's Plus package comes with NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA but doesn't include the NHL Network. You can stream content on two screens simultaneously (or pay $5 extra to do so on three screens) and with the AT&T TV Now app you can watch live TV on the go. The service also lets you record 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage. New customers can take advantage of a 7-day trial but you'll have to purchase one of AT&T TV Now's packages first.
- fuboTV - starting at $54.99 per month - fuboTV gives you access to NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and USA but not the NHL Network. The service also includes Cloud DVR so you can record games to watch them later and if you forget to record a game, the company's 3-day replay allows you to replay nearly any game, show or movie that aired in the last three days. FuboTV even offers a free 7-day trial so you can test out the service.
How to watch the Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning and get a UK NHL live stream
Hockey fans based in the UK can tune into the NHL playoffs and this Bruins vs Lightning series on Premier Sports. Start times vary but are between midnight and 1am for the rest of the confirmed games.
If you're not familiar with Premier Sports, it and sister channel FreeSports are showing up to 15 NHL games per week exclusively.
NHL.tv is available in the UK but games selected by Premier Sports for live coverage won’t be available through the league’s own service until 24 hours later.
If you’re already a Sky subscriber, adding Premier Sports will cost you £11.99 per month, though Virgin Media customers get a bit of a discount and will only have to pay £9.99 per month.
How to watch Bruins vs Lightning: live stream hockey in Canada
In Canada, the Bruins vs Lightning series is being shown on SportsNet. If you’ve already cut the cord and would rather stream the NHL game online, you can do so with a subscription to Sportsnet NOW.
The premium tier of the service, SN Now+, costs $9.99 a week, $27.99 per month or $20.83 per month with an annual pass. You can also sign up for SN Now for $19.99 per month or $16.67 per month with an annual pass but regional blackouts do apply whereas SN Now+ only has limited blackouts.
Canadians outside of the country can follow the VPN route set out above and tune in to their service of choice regardless of their geography.
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Bruins vs Lightning live stream: how to watch NHL playoffs in Australia for free
NHL fans based Down Under can watch NHL ice hockey on ESPN channels with a Foxtel subscription - or through the excellent value streaming service Kayo Sports.
Costing either $25 or $35 monthly, it's far cheaper than Foxtel and you can grab a 14-day FREE TRIAL to test it out. Perhaps best of all, a single subscription can be used simultaneously across multiple devices, meaning you can share one with family or friends and pay less.
If you're already a Foxtel subscriber, you’ll need to add the premium Sports Pack for an additional $29 per month to your subscription to watch the Stanley Cup Playoffs action.
Check your local listings for times and availability, but coverage is generally surprisingly robust given the NHL's niche status in Australia.
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