Stanley Cup Finals 2021 live stream: How to watch the Canadiens vs Lighting online from anywhere

Stanley Cup Finals Nhl (Image credit: NHL)

The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning were the winners of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs which means the two teams will meet on the ice for a best-of-five series to determine who will win this year's NHL championship and we have all the details on how you can watch the Stanley Cup Finals on TV or online.

The Stanley Cup Finals will take place over the next two weeks from June 28 through July 11 and a possible seven games will be played across the U.S. and Canada. Play will be split between the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida and the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada so that no team has an unfair home-ice advantage as is the tradition.

While both the Canadiens and the Lightning have held the Stanley Cup in the past, the Canadiens haven't won the NHL championship since 1993. The Lightning meanwhile is returning to the Stanley Cup Finals after facing off against and defeating the Dallas Stars 2-0 during Game 6 last year.

As Tampa Bay looks to build a dynasty after last year's victory, Montreal is looking to make history by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 28 years. Will the Lightning be able to keep up the momentum from last year or will the Canadiens be able to bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to its rightful home?

Whether you're rooting for the Canadiens, the Lightning or just want to tune in to see the stunning conclusion of the 2020-21 NHL hockey season, we'll show you exactly how to watch all seven possible games in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Stanley Cup Finals - When and where?

The Stanley Cup Finals kicked off on Monday, June 28 and will run until Sunday, July 11 if the Canadiens and Lightning end up playing all seven games. Each game (except for a potential Game 7) will start at 8pm ET / 5pm PT and hockey fans in the U.S. can watch all the action on NBCSN, NBC or Peacock. SportsNet will show the Stanley Cup Finals in Canada while Premiere Sports will do so in the UK and Australian viewers will be able to watch the hockey on ESPN with a Foxtel cable package.

How to watch the Stanley Cup Finals in the U.S.

If you live in the U.S. and want to watch the Canadiens vs Lightning at the Stanley Cup Finals, then you'll need a cable package that gives you access to both NBCSN and NBC. While Game 1 and Game 2 will be shown on NBCSN, the remaining games in the series will all be shown on NBC at 8pm ET / 5pm PT (except for a potential Game 7 which will start an hour earlier). You can also stream the Stanley Cup Finals online on the NBCSports website but you will need to login with the credentials from your cable provider to do so.

If you've already cut the cord though, you can stream the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC's streaming service Peacock. An ad-supported subscription to Peacock Premium costs just $4.99 per month but you can also pay $9.99 per month for a subscription to Peacock Premium Plus if you want to watch hockey without ads.

Not interested in signing up for cable or Peacock to watch the Canadiens vs Lightning on NBC? Don't worry as there are a number of streaming services, all at different price points, that will give you access to the network so you can watch the Stanley Cup Finals online. We've listed a few of our favorites below to make things easier for you.

Hulu with Live TV - $64.99 per month - As well as giving you access to NBC, the service also includes its own Hulu Originals and supports a wide variety of streaming devices.
Sling TV - $35 per month - In order to get access to NBC, you'll have to sign up for Sling TV's Sling Blue package. The service also lets you watch on three screens simultaneously and record live TV with its Cloud DVR.
YouTube TV - $65 per month - YouTube TV gives you access to NBC as well as over 70 other TV channels and a free 14-day trial available.
AT&T TV Now - $69.99 per month - AT&T TV Now's Entertainment package will give you access to NBC and the service allows you to watch over 45 live TV channels. You can also record up to 20 hours of content using its cloud DVR.
FuboTV - starting at $64.99 per month. FuboTV gives you access to NBC as well as over 80 other channels. The service also includes a 7-day free trial so you can test it out for yourself.

How to watch the Stanley Cup Finals live in Canada

Canadian hockey fans will be able to watch every game in this year's Stanley Cup Finals on Sportsnet and CBC. Just like in the U.S., both networks will show every game at 8pm ET / 5pm PT except for Game 7 which will start an hour earlier if a champion isn't decided by then.

Cord cutters can watch the entirety of the Stanley Cup Finals on Sportsnet's streaming service Sportsnet NOW for just $19.99 per month and hockey fans in Quebec can tune into TVA Sports for French-language coverage of every game.

How to watch the Stanley Cup Finals live in the UK

UK viewers will be able to watch every game in the Stanley Cup Finals on Premier Sports though the network's coverage will begin early each morning at 1am BST. If you haven't subscribed to Premiere Sports yet and have a cable package, you can do so through Sky for £10.99 per month or through Virgin Media for £12.99 per month. The network also offers a streaming-only option that gives you access to Premiere Sports 1 and 2 for £10.99 per month.

Live stream the Stanley Cup Finals in Australia

If you live in Australia and have a Foxtel cable package, you'll be able to watch the Stanley Cup Finals on ESPN and the network's coverage of each game will begin at 10am AEST / 8am. Cord cutters that want to watch the Canadiens vs Lightning down under can also do so on Kayo Sports. A subscription to the sports streaming service costs between $25 and $35 per month depending on the package you choose but new customers can take advantage of Kayo Sports' 14-day Free Trial to watch the Stanley Cup Finals online.

NOW Sports Membership

Watch Sky Sports' coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals online with a NOW Sports Membership. Watch today's coverage for £10 or snag a monthly pass for £34.

How to watch the Stanley Cup Finals live from anywhere

We have all the details on how you can watch the Canadiens vs Lighting in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Australia further up in this guide. However, if you want to watch this year's Stanley Cup Finals when you're away from home, then you'll run into problems as your domestic coverage online from abroad will likely be geo-blocked.

That's where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can really come in handy. They allow you to virtually change the IP address of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that's back in your home country which will let you watch as if you were back there.

VPNs are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of providing you with an additional layer of security when surfing the web. There are also a lot of options but we recommend ExpressVPN as our top pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. The service can even be used on a wide array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, game consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. You can even test it out for yourself thanks to the service's 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for more options?

Here are some other VPNs that are on sale right now.