WATCH Penguins vs. Red Wings Live Stream Online: NHL Top Division Teams 2015, Playoff Updates

Hockey's back for the official 2015-2016 NHL season, so get ready, MstarsNews readers!

The Pittsburgh Penguins battle it out on the ice against the Detroit Red Wings in Week 12 of the regular season on Thursday, December 31 at 6:00 p.m. EST from Michigan's Joe Louis Arena. Read on to see where fans can watch and listen to a live stream of the highly-anticipated New Year's Eve hockey game online and catch up-to-date feeds and coverage on highlight plays and scores.

Now heading into mid-season, Detroit maintains an impressive Top 10 spot in Joe McDonald's official NHL power rankings for ESPN.com, while Pittsburgh still lags way behind (out of a total 30 teams):

Red Wings (4): "The Red Wings are 6-2-3 in December. They began the month 11 points out of first place but enter Monday's action one point back of the top spot the Atlantic."

Record: 18-12-7 (4th in Atlantic Division).

Penguins (26): "Sidney Crosby returned from a lower-body injury Saturday and provided a two-point game to help the Penguins to a 3-1 win over the Wild. It was Pittsburgh's second consecutive win. The captain has one goal and four assists for five points in his last three games. However, the Penguins were held scoreless during Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Jets."

Record: 17-15-4 (5th in Metropolitan Division).

Tonight's monumental game will be broadcasted live on local sports channels ROOT, FSDT, and RSN.

For fans who want to try out a free live stream (which may mean downloading a torrent), click here. Also try this or another option.

For a one-time fee, fans can access a NHL Gamecenter Live pass.

ESPN, ESPN Scoreboard, and NHL.com  are both good sources for up-to-date game coverage and feeds.

More radio listening options for Red Wings and Penguins. 

Official NHL team websites: Red Wings and Penguins.

Enjoy this evening's exciting hockey game from Michigan, and always stick with MstarsNews for even more NHL gameday coverage later this week. Which Eastern division rival will snag the big win tonight?