If the NHL schedule holds, the ice in 2024 will melt to the match of the century in the Stanley Cup Finals. Either the Edmonton Oilers, returning to the series for the first time since 1990, will seek to regain the Cup, while the Florida Panthers, who have yet to win a franchise title, will work to bring home their first Cup ever. And what a series we have in store. Hockey at its most intense, theatrical and athletic.
If you’d like to watch every single incredible moment of the Oilers vs Panthers series, but don’t have the traditional cable service to do so, Sling TV might be the way to go. For ABC coverage, depending on your market, if you want to watch Sling TV, the package you want is called “Sling Blue” and includes the game. At $20 the first month, it’s a steal for any person who doesn’t want to miss a second of the action. It doesn’t only have NHL playoff coverage, either. The NBA playoffs are happening as well. Sling TV is the place to be for any sports fan.
Taking advantage of free trials is crucial for fans trying out the series on the cheap. There can be few better arguments for cutting the cord, as these four services offer the largest channel packages of the bunch that include ABC and, therefore, putting you in position to watch every game live. Fubo, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Stream all offer free trials that are about as long as the series – some longer – so that you get covered one way or another.
It does not matter if you are thousands of miles away: as an international fan, the time zone divide is irrelevant to the Stanley Cup spirit. The best VPN services will teleport you to the centre of the North American action and give you access to streaming services that have geo-blocking restrictions for US audiences. Currently, NordVPN is highly regarded thanks to its excellence and its happy accident of a 30-day money-back guarantee taking it as close to a free trial as you can get.
ESPN+ only getting a footnote as a cheap way to access the Oilers vs Panthers storyline offers a decent option for all you hardcore hockey fans. At $11 per month (or $110 per year), it’s a low-frills way to stream all of the finals games.
If you’re outside the US, it becomes even more important to find a way to CONNECT with the game – hooking up to a VPN to simulate an American IP address, streaming the shuts-and-outs on the US-only streaming services is a tried and tested method. Sign up with NordVPN, with its huge network and super-fast speeds, to make sure distance doesn’t dampen your spirits and cut you off from all the action.
But to have an optimal viewing experience, you need a solid internet connection: to watch it over Sling TV, to catch the free seven-day trial testing it out with YouTube TV, or to watch it via a service that beats NBC regional restrictions such as NordVPN. Your best bet is to talk to your ISP about upping your speed, or if you’re at home, to tweak your WiFi settings so you don’t get stuck with the dreaded ‘buffering’ at a critical moment.
Because of the digital era, there are no more borders for linking ourselves to our passions and communities. Technology also accentuates the power of sports to unify people and make them feel part of the same experience, no matter where they are. Live streaming, free trials and VPNs are tools that help us, fans, reach where we couldn’t reach before.
On the ice, Oilers collide with Panthers; fans connect, too, to the sport, to each other, and to the outcome – wins and losses, cheers and tears. Fans at the coliseum in 2023 are connecting to a community, to the thing that unites. Connecting is more than phoning home.
And thus, with the puck dropping on Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, remember this is bigger than a sissy hockey game; this is history in the making, a red-and-green thread connecting fans wearing the sweaters of Los Angeles Kings players but born more than half-a-world away, a red-and-blue thread connecting fans wearing the sweaters of Chicago Blackhawks players … well, you get the point. Watch the Stanley Cup Finals on Sling TV, a free seven-day trial, or a VPN. Just watch.
© 2024 UC Technology Inc . All Rights Reserved.