NHL Hockey
Experience the Ice Like Never Before
This site contains affiliate links. If you purchase tickets through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Experience the Ice Like Never Before
The NHL delivers one of the most intense live sports experiences in the world. An 82-game regular season running from October through April is followed by a grueling playoff format that tests endurance and willpower unlike any other postseason in professional sports. The 2026/2027 season brings a deep pool of contenders, with young franchises challenging traditional powers and the league continuing its expansion into new markets. Attending a hockey game live reveals the sport's true speed, physicality, and non-stop pace in ways that even the best broadcasts cannot capture.
The Bell Centre in Montreal is the loudest, most passionate hockey arena on the planet. Home to the Canadiens, the most storied franchise in NHL history with 24 Stanley Cup championships, the Bell Centre seats 21,302 fans who treat every home game like a national event. The atmosphere during a Canadiens game is unlike anything else in North American sports. The crowd sings along to anthems, erupts on every hit, and creates a wall of sound during power plays. Visiting the Bell Centre is a pilgrimage for any hockey fan, and the surrounding downtown Montreal neighborhood offers world-class dining and nightlife within walking distance of the arena.
T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip has quickly become one of the NHL's premier destinations. Opened in 2016 and home to the Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena sits between the New York-New York and Park MGM hotels, making it one of the most accessible arenas in pro sports for visitors. The pre-game entertainment at T-Mobile Arena is famously theatrical, with light shows, medieval knight performers, and pyrotechnics that transform puck drop into a full Vegas production. The arena seats 17,500 for hockey and has a modern layout with wide concourses, premium club spaces, and views of the Strip from certain sections.
The United Center in Chicago, shared with the NBA's Bulls, is one of the largest arenas in the NHL at 19,717 seats for hockey. The Blackhawks play in front of a famously passionate crowd that maintains a unique tradition of cheering throughout the entire national anthem, a practice that began during the 1985 playoffs and has continued ever since. The arena's sheer size can make it feel cavernous during regular season games against smaller-draw opponents, but when the United Center fills up for a rivalry game or playoff matchup, the atmosphere is thunderous.
Glass seats are the most coveted tickets in hockey. Sitting in the first row along the boards puts you inches from the action, close enough to hear players communicate and feel the impact when two skaters collide into the glass directly in front of you. Glass seats along the attacking zone (where your home team shoots twice) give you the best chance of seeing goals scored up close. Prices for glass seats on StubHub vary widely by venue, typically ranging from $200-500 for regular season games at most arenas.
Center ice seats in the lower bowl offer the most balanced view. From this position, you can follow the puck end to end without the neck strain that comes from sitting behind a goal. Rows 10-20 at center ice are often considered the best seats in any hockey arena because you are elevated enough to see the full ice surface but close enough to appreciate the speed of the game. At T-Mobile Arena, these sections (roughly 7-9 and 17-19) provide outstanding sightlines.
Corner seats in the lower bowl deserve consideration for their value. They sit at a 45-degree angle to the ice, giving you a good view of one end zone and a diagonal perspective on the other. Corner sections are often priced 30-40% below center ice sections and offer an engaging viewing angle that many seasoned hockey fans actually prefer. You see plays develop in the offensive zone more naturally from the corner.
Upper bowl seats at hockey arenas are perfectly functional thanks to the compact size of NHL rinks. Even the highest rows at the Bell Centre keep you closer to the ice than upper deck seats at an NFL stadium keep you to the field. Center ice upper bowl sections provide an excellent bird's-eye view of the entire play surface, making it easier to follow line changes, offensive strategies, and defensive positioning.
Getting to the Bell Centre in Montreal is simple thanks to the city's Metro system. The Lucien-L'Allier station on the Orange Line is directly connected to the arena via an underground walkway, meaning you never have to step outside in Montreal's winter weather. The Bonaventure station is also a short walk away. Street parking in downtown Montreal is scarce on game nights, and the arena's attached parking garage fills quickly, so the Metro is the clear best option.
T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip is one of the most walkable arenas in professional sports. If you are staying at any hotel between the Bellagio and Mandalay Bay, the arena is within a 10-15 minute walk along the Strip or through the connected hotel corridors. There is no dedicated parking lot for T-Mobile Arena, so fans typically use hotel parking at Park MGM or New York-New York (both adjacent) or take a taxi or rideshare. The lack of a parking hassle is one of the perks of attending a game in Vegas.
The United Center has its own parking lots surrounding the arena, priced at $30-40 on game nights. Street parking in the surrounding West Loop neighborhood is free but competitive. The CTA 20 Madison bus runs from downtown Chicago directly to the arena, and rideshare drop-off on Wood Street is well organized. Post-game, the lots clear within 20-30 minutes, but walking to nearby Randolph Street or Halsted for dinner and waiting out traffic is a popular strategy among local fans.
NHL tickets on StubHub are generally more affordable than NBA or NFL tickets for comparable seat locations. Regular season upper bowl tickets at most arenas start in the $30-60 range, with lower bowl seats typically running $80-200. The exception is Original Six matchups (Blackhawks, Canadiens, Red Wings, Rangers, Bruins, Maple Leafs playing each other), which carry a nostalgia premium that elevates prices regardless of either team's current standing.
Playoff tickets escalate sharply by round. First-round tickets might start at $75-100 for upper bowl seats, but Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final tickets can exceed $400-500 for nosebleeds. StubHub is especially useful during the playoffs because the matchups are not known far in advance, and inventory appears as soon as series are set. Checking StubHub the morning after a series-clinching win gives you first access to the next round's listings.
Yes. Modern NHL arenas have excellent sightlines from the upper bowl, and the ice surface's white background makes the puck visible from any seat. Many experienced fans actually prefer upper bowl center ice seats because the elevated angle makes it easier to follow the puck and read plays developing across the full ice surface.
Arenas are kept cool (around 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain the ice quality, so bring a light jacket or wear layers. A team jersey is always welcome. If you have glass seats, you will feel noticeably cooler than fans in the upper bowl. Comfortable shoes are important since concourse walking is part of the experience.
T-Mobile Arena sits on the Las Vegas Strip between New York-New York and Park MGM hotels. If you are staying on the Strip, walking is the easiest option. From off-Strip hotels, a short taxi or rideshare ride works well. There is no dedicated arena parking, so use adjacent hotel garages if you are driving.
NHL games are great family events. The fast-paced action keeps kids engaged, and arenas have family-friendly concession options and restroom facilities. Glass seats can be startling for very young children when players hit the boards, so families with small kids might prefer lower bowl seats a few rows back or upper bowl center ice.
For regular season games, prices on StubHub tend to be lowest 3-5 days before the game as sellers adjust prices downward. For rivalry matchups and playoff games, buying as soon as tickets appear gives you the best selection. Mid-week games (Tuesday, Wednesday) are consistently the most affordable across the league.