17 games to be nationally televised this week

Each Monday throughout the 2023-24 NHL season, NHL.com will provide fans with a guide of games that will be nationally televised that week. Today, a look at games for the third week of the season.

In total, 17 games will be carried nationally by ESPN, TNT, SN and/or TVAS this week including the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday. Five games are on national television -- three on ESPN and ESPN+ -- during Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday, the first of two 16-games this season (Jan. 13), the second in NHL history (April 8, 2023) and first on a weekday.

TUESDAY, OCT. 24

Toronto Maple Leafs at Washington Capitals (6 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, TSN4): The "Frozen Frenzy" begins with Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews going head-to-head with Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin for the 16th time in the regular season. Toronto is 8-5-2 with Matthews getting 18 points (seven goals, 18 assists) against Washington since he joined the NHL after he was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The Capitals are 7-7-1 and Ovechkin has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) since his first game against Matthews on Nov. 26, 2016, a 4-2 loss for the Capitals at Air Canada Centre when he had an assist and Matthews scored a third-period goal.

ESPN will have a feature on the "simply sensational" goal scored by Ovechkin, then a 20-year-old rookie, against Phoenix Coyotes goalie Brian Boucher during a 6-1 win at Glendale Arena on Jan. 16, 2006. Wayne Gretzky was Coyotes coach, and Matthews attended the game at the age of 8 when growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, TVAS): Bruins forward David Pastrnak plays against Blackhawks center Connor Bedard for the second time in the NHL; Pastrnak scored twice and Bedard had his first NHL goal in Boston's 3-1 win at TD Garden on Oct. 11. Pastrnak’s 41 regular-season goals lead the League in the 2023 calendar year.

Philadelphia Flyers at Vegas Golden Knights (11 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN): The Golden Knights' 6-0-0 start is the longest season-opening winning streak by a reigning Stanley Cup champion in NHL history. Only 15 teams have won at least seven in a row to start one season, last done in 2021-22 by the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. The Flyers (3-1-1) are led by Travis Konecny, a forward whose seven points (five goals, two assists) are tied with the best five-game start of his NHL career set in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

SUNDAY, OCT. 29

2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TBS, MAX): The event returns to Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton for the first time since Nov. 22, 2003, when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Oilers 4-3 before a crowd of 57,167 in the first NHL regular-season game ever played outdoors. The Oilers were last outdoors at the 2016 Heritage Classic, a 3-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. The Flames are 1-0-1 at the Heritage Classic. They defeated the Canadiens 4-0 in 2011 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary and lost 2-1 to the Jets at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 2019.

Edmonton captain Connor McDavid had an assist and was plus-1 in the 2016 game; the Oilers said Sunday that the forward will be out 1-2 weeks with an upper-body injury sustained in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, putting his status for the outdoor game in doubt. Calgary forward Nazem Kadri has scored one goal in four outdoor games, three for the Maple Leafs and one with the Colorado Avalanche.

OTHER NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES

MONDAY, OCT. 23

Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG-B, SN1, RDS)

TUESDAY, OCT. 24

Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators (6:45 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, MSG-B)

New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens (7:15 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSGSN2)

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25

Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, TVAS)

THURSDAY, OCT. 26

Anaheim Ducks at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; BSSD, BSSC, NESN, SNP, SNO, SNE)

Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, BSOH)

Minnesota Wild at Philadelphia Flyers (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+)

New York Rangers at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, MSG)

FRIDAY, OCT. 27

Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights (6 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NHLN, NBCSCH, TVAS2)

Los Angeles Kings at Arizona Coyotes (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSW, TVAS2)

SATURDAY, OCT. 28

Winnipeg Jets at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY)

Toronto Maple Leafs at Nashville Predators (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, NHLN, CBC)

New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, CITY, MSG, MSG 2)