FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 15th, 2014

DAY 30 – GAME 7 TOMORROW NIGHT — DUCKS HOST KINGS AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Conference Finals Begin This Weekend on NBC

2.3 Million Viewers Watch Last Night’s Game 7

Boston Scores Best-Ever 22.3 HH Rating

Canadiens-Bruins Streams Nearly 4 Million Minutes

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 15, 2014 – Today marks the first day since the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs began that there are no games being played. However, action resumes tomorrow night with Game 7 in the “Freeway Series” between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. It will be the third Game 7 in four days.

Saturday and Sunday will begin the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals, respectively. The Montreal Canadiens will host the New York Rangers on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. On Sunday, the Chicago Blackhawks will either host the Los Angeles Kings or travel to the Anaheim Ducks at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

*****************************************************************************
“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.

******************************************************************************
For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

THE PASS – FRIDAY, MAY 16 – SUNDAY, MAY 18 (All times ET)

(There are no games tonight)

FRIDAY, MAY 16
Time Coverage Network Commentators
8:30 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
9 p.m. Game 7 – (3) Los Angeles at (1) Anaheim NBCSN John Forslund, Joe Micheletti, Brian Engblom

 
SATURDAY, MAY 17
1 p.m. Game 1 – (2) N.Y. Rangers at (3) Montreal NBC Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
  NHL Live (Intermission Reports) NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
SUNDAY, MAY 18
3 p.m. Game 1 – (3) Chicago at (1) Anaheim OR (3) Los Angeles at (3) Chicago NBC Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti,  Brian Engblom
  NHL Live (Intermission Reports) NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones

TOMORROW NIGHT – MAY 16

The Kings face the Ducks tomorrow night in Game 7 at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a trip to the Western Conference Final at stake. On Wednesday night, the Kings built a 2-0 lead on goals from Jake Muzzin and Trevor Lewis, and held on for a 2-1 victory in Los Angeles. This is the third Game 7 in four days, and the road team won both contests by a score of 2-1, as the Rangers and Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference Final. John Forslund (play-by-play), Joe Micheletti (analyst) and Brian Engblom (Inside the Glass analyst) will have the call from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

VIEWERSHIP & CONSUMPTION HIGHLIGHTS

Last night’s Game 7 between the Canadiens and the Bruins (6:59-9:52 p.m. ET) averaged 2.276 million viewers, making it the most-watched game featuring a Canadian team ever on NBCSN, excluding the Stanley Cup Final; the most-watched cable game of the 2014 playoffs so far; and the third-most watched second-round game ever on NBCSN.

The contest, in which the Canadiens defeated the Bruins, 3-1, in Boston and advance to the Eastern Conference Final, peaked in its penultimate quarter-hour (9:30-9:45 p.m. ET) with 3.2 million viewers. In Boston, the game delivered a 22.3 HH rating, the highest-rated second-round Bruins game ever in the market on NBCSN.

Digitally, Canadiens-Bruins Game 7 broke nearly every record in the book as it was the best authentication-required NHL game ever – beating both authentication-required Stanley Cup Final games last year. Regardless of authentication status, it was the best second-round game ever and the best game of the 2013-14 season. The game delivered 3.99 million minutes and 79,633 uniques.

Game 6 of Ducks-Kings (9:52 p.m. – 12:22 a.m. ET), the second game of last night’s doubleheader, averaged 1.036 million viewers, making it the most-watched game of the series to date and up 22% vs. the comparable game last year (Sharks-Kings).

PLEASE KISS PIERRE

Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban was so excited that his team won last night’s Game 7 against the Bruins that he ended last night’s post-game interview with NBCSN “Inside the Glass” analyst Pierre McGuire with a big kiss. Watch it here:

http://www.nbcsports.com/hockey/nhl/pk-subban-excited-beat-bruins

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 8
NBCSN 50
CNBC 11
NHL-N 2
Total 71

One-goal Games: 34
OT games: 20

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 —