DAY 44 – RANGERS CAN ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP FINAL WITH GAME 6 WIN OVER CANADIENS TONIGHT IN NEW YORK

Eastern Conference Final Game 6 – Canadiens-Rangers Tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Rangers Lead 3-2

Western Conference Final Game 6 – Kings-Blackhawks Friday at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Kings Lead 3-2

Cable Viewership for Stanley Cup Playoffs in May Best Since 2000; Kings-Blackhawks Game 5 Sets Streaming Records

All Games Streamed Live Via NBC Sports Live Extra

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 29, 2014 – Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers will look to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years tonight with a Game 6 win over P.K Subban and the Montreal Canadiens at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live hosted by Liam McHugh, alongside former NHL players and analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will provide live streaming coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET.

The Canadiens fought off elimination on Tuesday night with a wild 7-4 win in Game 5 in Montreal to send the series back to New York. Lundqvist was pulled midway through the second period, after allowing four goals to spot Montreal a 4-1 lead, but the Rangers responded with three quick tallies to knot the score at four. The Canadiens eventually pulled away with three straight goals from Rene Bourque to force tonight’s Game 6 showdown.

A Game 6 victory tonight sends the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1994, when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games for their first title in 54 years. The Canadiens are looking to force a Game 7 on Saturday in Montreal, and have not appeared in a Stanley Cup Final since 1993, when the defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games.

Emmy Award-winning play-by-play voice Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy Award-winning “Inside the Glass” analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from Madison Square Garden in New York.
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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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THE PASS –THURSDAY, MAY 29 & FRIDAY, MAY 30 (All times ET)

The Kings will look to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three years with a Game 6 victory against the Blackhawks on Friday night at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The Blackhawks had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in Game 5 last night, before the Kings netted three straight goals to carry a 4-3 lead into the third period. Ben Smith tied the game early in the third, and the game remained knotted at four until the 2:04 mark of double overtime, when veteran forward Michal Handzus beat Jonathan Quick to keep the Blackhawks alive and force Game 6 in L.A. Patrick Kane was a catalyst for the Blackhawks, recording assists on four of Chicago’s five goals, after recording just one point in the first four games of the series.
GAME 6 – BLACKHAWKS-KINGS WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL – TOMORROW AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – KINGS LEAD 3-2

Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Joe Micheletti (analyst), and Brian Engblom (“Inside the Glass” analyst) will have the call from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. on Friday night.
RATINGS & DIGITAL TRAFFIC

For last night’s double-OT contest, Chicago drew its second-best Conference Final rating ever on NBCSN with a 16.3 rating, trailing only its 16.6 rating for LA/Chi Game 2 of last year’s Conference Final (6/2/13). Los Angeles delivered 3.0 rating for the game. National ratings are expected later today.

The game also set a litany of NHL streaming records in all key metrics -- including 95,000 uniques and 5.49 million minutes -- across NBC Sports Live Extra, making it the best Conference Final game ever; best game of the 2013-14 season; and third-best NHL game ever in minutes watched (behind only two Stanley Cup Final games last year).

Tuesday night’s Eastern Conference Final Game 5 between the Rangers and Canadiens averaged 1.693 million viewers. Despite the presence of a Canadian team, the fifth iteration of the series was up 19% vs. the last ECF Game 5, between the Devils and Rangers in 2012 (1.428 million), and up 12% vs. the 2011 ECF Game 5, between the Lightning and Bruins (1.516 million). There was no Eastern Conference Game 5 last year. The game peaked with 2.2 million viewers during the 10:30 p.m. ET quarter-hour.

Following are additional 2014 Stanley Cup Playoff notes:

• Six May games drew more than 1.75 million viewers – the most-ever in the month and up from five in 2013 and one in 2012. NBCSN’s most-watched game of the month, the May 14 Game 7 between the Canadiens and the Bruins, averaged 2.276 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final game featuring a Canadian team on NBCSN.
• The combined NBCSN/CNBC average viewership for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs for the month (1.294 million viewers) ranks as the best May on cable for the NHL postseason since 2000.

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.

One-goal Games: 38
OT games: 22
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.”

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