FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 8th, 2014

JIMMY HOWARD AND DETROIT RED WINGS HOST PHIL KESSEL AND TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS IN WINTER CLASSIC REMATCH ON NBCSN’S “WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY”

Maple Leafs-Red Wings on Wednesday Night Rivalry – Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Coverage Begins with NHL Live at 7 p.m. ET; Pierre McGuire Interviews Red Wings Goalie Jimmy Howard

“To be part of an Original Six franchise, you have to pinch yourself and realize you’ve got it pretty good.” – Jimmy Howard

Buffalo Sabres Host Los Angeles Kings Tomorrow Night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 8, 2014 – NBCSN presents a rematch of the 2014 NHL Winter Classic and two of the league’s top offenses, when Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings host Phil Kessel and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday Night Rivalry at 8 p.m. ET.

Pre-game coverage begins with NHL Live at 7 p.m. ET, highlighted by a sit-down interview with Pierre McGuire and Howard. NHL Live will also look back at last year’s Winter Classic, which Toronto won 3-2 in a shootout in front of more than 100,000 fans on New Year’s Day from Michigan Stadium.

This week’s hockey coverage on NBCSN begins tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET, when 2015 All-Star Game leading vote-getter Zemgus Girgensons and the Buffalo Sabres host Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will provide live coverage of this week’s Maple Leafs-Red Wings and Kings-Sabres matchups.

This week’s NHL pre-game coverage on NBCSN begins at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live. Kathryn Tappen anchors tomorrow night’s studio coverage with analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones. Liam McHugh hosts Wednesday night’s coverage alongside Milbury, Jones and Darren Dreger.


WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY: MAPLE LEAFS-RED WINGS – WEDNESDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Maple Leafs and Red Wings enter this week’s Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup with their high-powered offenses hitting on all cylinders. Currently, Toronto is second in the NHL in goals scored (89), with at least three goals in seven consecutive games, and is led by Phil Kessel’s 27 points (13g/14a) in 26 games. Detroit boasts eight straight games with three or more goals, and strong play in net by Jimmy Howard, who has won five of his last six starts to propel the Red Wings to an 9-2-0 record in their last 11 games.

This marks the fourth meeting of the season between Toronto and Detroit, with the Red Wings holding a 2-1 season-series edge. In their last meeting on Nov. 22, Toronto scored three times in the third period en route to a 4-1 win.

Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.

JIMMY HOWARD WITH PIERRE MCGUIRE

NBCSN’s Wednesday night edition of NHL Live features a sit-down interview with Pierre McGuire and Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard. During the interview, which was filmed at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., Howard discusses the impact the USNTDP had on his growth as a hockey player and as a person, as well as the mentorship he received from Red Wings goaltending legends Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood.

Howard on impact of Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood: “I used to hang on to a lot of stuff in the back of my mind and let it fester, and I’ve learned a lot from Dom (Dominik Hasek) and Ozzie (Chris Osgood). Dom wouldn’t even think about the game until he went on the ice, and Ozzie had this laid back personality, so I tried to really take bits and pieces from both of them.”

Howard on personal and professional development at the USNTDP: “It has everything to do with this place right here in Ann Arbor – the way they bring kids in at a young age. It taught me how to grow up. You’re away from your family, away from your mom and dad. Even though we were living with host families, and my host family was awesome, I still had to be on top of things myself, instead of depending on my parents all the time.”

Howard on significance of being a Red Wing: “To be part of an Original Six franchise where the bar is set so high, Stanley Cup or bust every single year…to put on that sweater every single day, go out there and see the great names on the banners, you have to pinch yourself and realize you’ve got it pretty good.”


KINGS-SABRES – TOMORROW NIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Jonathan Quick and the Kings kick off a five-game road trip tomorrow night in Buffalo against the Sabres. In their last meeting on Oct. 23, Quick set a Kings’ franchise record in a 2-0 win, recording his 33rd career shutout to surpass Rogie Vachon for the most regular-season shutouts in Kings history. The Sabres have bounced back after a slow start to win six of their last nine games, led in part by former first-round pick Zemgus Girgensons, who tops 2015 NHL All-Star Game voting to this point.

Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will provide live commentary from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Note: Tomorrow night’s Kings-Sabres game is subject to local blackouts.

 

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Tues., December 9 NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Buffalo NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
NHL Rivals – Original Six (Encore) NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
NHL Top 10 (Encore) NBCSN 11 p.m.
Wed., December 10 NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
Wednesday Night Rivalry – Toronto at Detroit NBCSN 8 p.m.

 

2014-15 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

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