FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 25th, 2014

DAYS 10-12 – “NHL PLAYOFF PASS” – PIVOTAL GAME 5 AND GAME 6 MATCHUPS HIGHLIGHT NBC SPORTS GROUP’S STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF COVERAGE THIS WEEKEND

Game 4 – (2) Rangers-(3) Flyers at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC – Rangers Lead 2-1

Game 5 – (3) Blackhawks-(2) Blues at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Series Tied 2-2

Game 5 – (4) Stars-(1) Ducks at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Series Tied 2-2

Viewership on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC Up 51% vs. 2013; Game 4 Bruins-Red Wings Produces Strong Streaming Numbers

All Games on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC Will Be Streamed Live Via NBC Sports Live Extra

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 25, 2014 – Pivotal Game 5 and Game 6 Stanley Cup Playoff matchups will be featured across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, and NBC Sports Live Extra this weekend, as first-round coverage continues with teams battling for their playoff lives.

The first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs has so far been highlighted by comebacks and dramatic conclusions, as 23 of 31 games have been won in come-from-behind fashion. A team has overcome a multi-goal deficit in nine of those wins, breaking the record set in 1991 (8) for the most such victories in first-round history; there were only eight such victories in the entire 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The action begins tonight in Philadelphia with Game 4 between the (3) Flyers and (2) New York Rangers, as the Flyers look to even the series at two. NBCSN’s doubleheader begins at 8 p.m. ET, as the (2) St. Louis Blues host the (3) Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5, with the series deadlocked at two games apiece. Coverage continues at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with another pivotal Game 5, as the (1) Anaheim Ducks host the (4) Dallas Stars with their series tied at two.

 

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“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of NBC Sports Group’s Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. On Fridays, a weekend edition will be posted.

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All Stanley Cup Playoff games will be presented on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC (in primetime), and NHL Network. In addition, all Stanley Cup Playoff games airing on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC will be live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.

Please note that dates and commentating assignments for some of this weekend’s games have been updated from previous releases. For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

THE PASS – FRIDAY, APRIL 25-SUNDAY, APRIL 27 (All times ET)

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 25
Time Coverage Network Commentators
7 p.m. Game 4 – (2) N.Y. Rangers at (3) Philadelphia CNBC Dave Strader, Pierre McGuire
NHL Live CNBC Russ Thaler, Anson Carter
7 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Liam McHugh, Keith Jones,
Jeremy Roenick
8 p.m. Game 5 – (3) Chicago at (2) St. Louis NBCSN Ken Daniels, Brian Engblom
10:30 p.m. Game 5 – (4) Dallas at (1) Anaheim NBCSN John Walton, Butch Goring

SATURDAY, APRIL 26
3 p.m. Game 5 – (4) Detroit at (1) Boston NBC Dave Strader, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
NHL Live (Intermission Reports) NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury,
Keith Jones
6:30 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Russ Thaler, Mike Milbury,
Jeremy Roenick
7 p.m. Game 5 – (4) Columbus at (1) Pittsburgh NBCSN Ken Daniels, Joe Micheletti
9:30 p.m. Game 5 – (4) Minnesota at (1) Colorado NBCSN John Forslund, Tripp Tracy
10 p.m. Game 5 – (3) Los Angeles at (2) San Jose CNBC Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda
  NHL Live (Intermission Reports) CNBC Dave Briggs, Anson Carter

SUNDAY, APRIL 27
Noon Game 5 – (3) Philadelphia at (2) N.Y. Rangers NBC Kenny Albert, Brian Engblom
NHL Live (Intermission Reports) NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury,
Keith Jones
3 p.m. Game 6 – (2) St. Louis at (3) Chicago NBC Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk,
Pierre McGuire
7:30 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick,
Anson Carter
8 p.m. Game 6 – (1) Anaheim at (4) Dallas NBCSN Gord Miller, Joe Micheletti

 

TONIGHT – APRIL 25

NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Keith Jones, and Jeremy Roenick, begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Russ Thaler will host NHL Live on CNBC alongside Anson Carter, throughout coverage of Rangers-Flyers.

Game coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC when the (3) Philadelphia Flyers host the (2) New York Rangers in Game 4 of their first-round series, with the Rangers holding a 2-1 advantage through three games. In Game 3, Martin St. Louis scored and added an assist, as Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in a 4-1 victory. Ken Daniels (play-by-play) Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

NBCSN presents a doubleheader of Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff matchups, starting at 8 p.m. ET with Game 5 between the (3) Chicago Blackhawks and (2) St. Louis Blues. Patrick Kane scored twice in Game 4, including the game-winner 11:17 into overtime, to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 win and tie the series at two. Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom will call the game from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

NBCSN’s doubleheader continues at 10:30 p.m. ET as the (1) Anaheim Ducks host the (4) Dallas Stars in Game 5 of their first-round series. The home team has won each of the first four games, including Dallas’ 4-2 win on Wednesday night, as the Stars erased a 2-0 second-period deficit. John Walton (play-by-play) and Butch Goring (analyst) will have the call from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

SATURDAY, APRIL 26

NBC, NBCSN and CNBC will combine to present four Game 5s on Saturday, starting at 3 p.m. ET on NBC with Game 5 between the (1) Boston Bruins and (4) Detroit Red Wings, as Boston looks to advance to the second round with a win. In Game 4, Jerome Iginla’s deflection at 13:32 of overtime beat Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson to give Boston a 3-2 win, and a 3-1 series lead. Strader, McGuire and Eddie Olczyk will have the call from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

NBCSN’s coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with a Game 5 matchup between the (1) Pittsburgh Penguins and (4) Columbus Blue Jackets, as Columbus looks to carry momentum from a thrilling win in Game 4. Brandon Dubinsky scored with 24 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 3-3, and Nick Foligno scored 2:49 into overtime to give the Blue Jackets a 4-3 win and tie the series at two games apiece. No lead has been safe in this series; in each game, the team that has held a 3-1 lead has gone on to lose the game by a score of 4-3. Daniels (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (analyst) will provide live commentary from CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The action continues at 9:30 p.m. ET with the (1) Colorado Avalanche and (4) Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of their series, following the Wild’s two victories in Minnesota to even the series at two. Minnesota has stymied Colorado over the last two games, limiting the Avalanche to just one goal and 34 shots over two games at Xcel Energy Center. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Tripp Tracy (analyst) will have the call from Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.

CNBC’s coverage starts at 10 p.m. ET with Game 5 between the (2) Los Angeles Kings and (3) San Jose Sharks, as the Sharks look to close out the series and advance to the second round. Marian Gaborik and Justin Williams each scored twice on Thursday night, as the Kings defeated the Sharks 6-3 in Game 4 in Los Angeles to extend the series. Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda will call the action from the SAP Center at San Jose in San Jose, Calif.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27

Sunday’s Stanley Cup Playoff action features a doubleheader on NBC, starting at Noon ET with Game 5 between the Rangers and Flyers. Kenny Albert (play-by-play) and Engblom (analyst) will call the action from Madison Square Garden in New York.

NBC’s coverage continues at 3 p.m. ET with Game 6 between the Blues and Blackhawks. Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike “Doc” Emrick will call the action alongside Olczyk and McGuire from United Center in Chicago, Ill.

NBCSN will present Game 6 between the Ducks and Stars, as the series shifts back to Dallas. Gord Miller (play-by-play) and Micheletti (analyst) will provide live commentary from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

In the event that a game runs late and beyond puck drop of the following game on NBC, NBCSN or CNBC, the start of the later game will air on NHL Network, and will remain on NHL Network until the early game has concluded. The late game will then return to its original network where it will be seen in its entirety.

REMINDER: Games airing on cable in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are subject to local blackouts.

VIEWERSHIP & CONSUMPTION

COVERAGE ON NBC/NBCSN/CNBC UP 51 % VS. 2013

Through the first eight days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC/NBCSN/CNBC, games averaged 716,000 viewers, up 51% from the same point in the playoffs last year (475,000 viewers). The Stanley Cup Playoffs across NBC/NBCSN/CNBC have reached a total audience of 19.776 million viewers through eight days, up 22% from the same point in the playoffs last year (16.209 million).

BRUINS-RED WINGS GAME 4 TOPS 1 MILLION VIEWERS, DELIVERS STRONG STREAMING VIEWERSHIP

Last night’s Game 4 between Boston and Detroit, in which the Bruins won 3-2 in overtime, averaged 1.056 million viewers, making it NBCSN’s most-watched first round non-elimination game ever. The telecast peaked at nearly 1.3 million viewers in the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour.

The previous record for a first-round non-elimination game was Buffalo-Philadelphia Game 5 (series tied 2-2) on April 22, 2011 with 931,000 viewers. Last night’s game was up 110% vs. the comparable game last year: Game 5 between the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins, which averaged 504,000 viewers.

Last night’s Game 4 matchup between the Bruins and Red Wings, in which the Bruins defeated the Red Wings by a score of 3-2 in overtime, was the second-best authentication-required first-round game in all key metrics of first-round games ever. This surpassed the mark set by Game 4 between the Blues and Blackhawks one day earlier, which ranked second at the time.

The game delivered 149,000 live starts, 2.64 million minutes watched, 57,000 visits, and 50,000 uniques.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the third consecutive year, NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and NHL Network are combining to televise every Stanley Cup Playoff game nationally.

Network Games
NBC 3
NBCSN 18
CNBC 8
NHL-N 2
Total 31

One-goal Games: 18
OT games: 10

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will stream all Stanley Cup Playoff games that air on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC, including the comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final. The vast majority of games will be live streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Games airing on:

  • NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
  • NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs;
  • CNBC will live stream exclusively through NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere.”

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

— NBC Sports Group —