ESPN to air Inside Out-themed NHL broadcast between Capitals, Rangers

The NHL is once again going into the land of Disney.

On Thursday, the league, Disney, Pixar and ESPN announced a partnership to present the Inside Out Classic, a real-time alternate animated telecast of a game between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers.

The game is set to take place on April 5 at 7 p.m. ET. The traditional broadcast will be on ESPN, while the secondary telecast will be streamed on ESPN+ and Disney+, as well as broadcast live on Disney Channel and Disney XD.

The game will take place inside the mind of Riley, the girl featured in the Inside Out series. Riley’s a talented young hockey player, with Inside Out 2 mainly taking place at a hockey camp in California. Other characters such as Sadness, Anger, Fear and Anxiety will also be featured in the unique broadcast.

ESPN broadcasters Drew Carter, Kevin Weekes and Arda Öcal will be providing the commentary in the Inside Out world as well. They will be wearing virtual reality headsets that will immerse them into the environment, giving the game an authentic feel.

This isn’t the first time the league has embarked on a “virtual game.” The NHL and Disney put together two editions of the NHL Big City Greens Classic, with the first game in 2023 featuring the Capitals and Rangers. The league uses live data from NHL EDGE’s puck and player tracking to accurately portray what is happening in real time, while giving the game a more cartoon, kid-friendly presentation.

The Inside Out Classic will also be using Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology for tracking, helping viewers see more authentic movements of the players in connection to their characters in the virtual world.

ESPN and Disney have also partnered to create alt-casts of NFL and NBA games, featuring the casts of Toy Story, The Simpsons and Mickey Mouse.