Prime Video Sets First Wednesday Night Hockey Slate

Prime Video has published the schedule for its first Wednesday Night Hockey season, a 27-game national package in Canada that starts Sept. 30 when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New York Islanders.

Among Canadian clubs, Montreal has the most appearances with seven. Toronto has six and Edmonton five. The Flames, Jets and Senators are on the schedule four times apiece. Vancouver is featured twice.

Two October nights stand out. Brady Tkachuk returns to Ottawa as a Florida Panther on Oct. 21, and seven days later Edmonton and Calgary play a Battle of Alberta.

The games stream in English and French, included for Prime subscribers in Canada at no extra cost.

The Wednesday games are part of a 12-year sub-licensing deal with Rogers, which also gives the streamer two first-round series and one second-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year. That is the part worth watching over time: a weekly midweek window is one thing, but playoff hockey behind a streaming subscription changes viewing habits faster than any regular-season slate.

For now, the immediate detail is the calendar. Nothing has been played yet. The first puck on Prime's Wednesday night drops at Scotiabank Arena at the end of the month.