NHL Center Ice games are broadcast on Ch. 769, you can see it in HD (if available) on Ch. 769-1. Most games on NHL CENTER ICE are available in HD. The actual number of games varies due to blackout restrictions and whether they are available to DIRECTV in HD.

NHL Center Ice is an out-of-market sports package distributed by most cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada. The package allows its subscribers to see up to forty out-of-market National Hockey League games a week using local and national television networks.

NHL Center Ice ($69.99 a season) is an add-on you can purchase through most cable and satellite TV providers. However, for $40.00 more a year, ESPN+ ($109.99 a year) has 50 exclusive games and many other live sports.

One weird word of warning: NHL Center Ice is available as an add-on for a regular DirecTV satellite subscription but not as an add-on to DirecTV Stream.

What's the difference between NHL Center Ice and NHL TV? NHL.TV was the out-of-market streaming counterpart to NHL Center Ice in the U.S. But since ESPN+ now streams out-of-market NHL games, NHL.TV is no longer available for U.S.-based subscribers.

Some games won't be in your market. Due to local and national coverage licensing, you won't be able to see all of your team's games - unless you get NHL Center Ice to round out your TV package coverage.

NHL® Playoffs are a best of seven series. The home-ice advantage goes to the team with the higher seed and the games are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format. This format means the team with the higher seed will host games one, two, five, and seven, while the lower seed will host games three, four and six.

On DIRECTV, NHL® CENTER ICE® games are broadcast on Ch. 769-785 and the NHL Network is on Ch. 215.

Does NHL Center Ice include all games? No, NHL Center Ice only includes out-of-market and NHL Network matchups. For every game, you'll need a TV plan that includes your regional sports network, national NHL channels like ABC, ESPN, TBS, and TNT, and an ESPN+ or Hulu subscription.

It may not feel like it after watching these playoffs so far, but in general playoff teams do usually perform better at home than they did during the regular season - though it does vary from season to season. Since 2008, home-ice advantage during the regular season has ranged anywhere between 52 to 57 percent.

Does NHL Center Ice include all games? No, NHL Center Ice only includes out-of-market and NHL Network matchups. For every game, you'll need a TV plan that includes your regional sports network, national NHL channels like ABC, ESPN, TBS, and TNT, and an ESPN+ or Hulu subscription.

The winners of these series advance to the Conference Finals and the two Conference Finals winners move on to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the first two rounds, the higher-seeded team has home-ice advantage (regardless of point record).