FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

PUSH FOR THE PLAYOFFS – NBC SPORTS GROUP’S STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF COVERAGE BEGINS TOMORROW

Two-Time Stanley Cup Winner Shawn Thornton Joins NHL Live as Guest Analyst Thursday and Friday

NBC Sports Group Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Call – Today at 4 p.m.ET

NHL on NBC Lead Analyst Eddie Olczyk Joins the Twitterverse – @EddieOlczyk

Who’s Your Pick to Win It All? Join the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge

Four Game 1 Matchups on Wednesday, Including Islanders-Capitals at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network & Blackhawks-Predators at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 14, 2015 – NBC Sports Group’s push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs is underway, with less than 36 hours until the puck drops on its comprehensive coverage of the 2015 postseason. It all begins tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with pre-game coverage on NHL Live, followed by four Game 1 matchups across NBCSN, USA Network and NHL Network.

 

TWO-TIME STANLEY CUP WINNER SHAWN THORNTON JOINS NHL LIVE AS GUEST ANALYST THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

Two-time Stanley Cup winner and current Florida Panthers forward Shawn Thornton will join NHL Live as a guest analyst this Thursday and Friday. Thornton recently completed his 18th season of professional hockey and first season with the Panthers. The veteran forward earned his first Stanley Cup win as a member of the Anaheim Ducks during the 2006-07 season, and was a member of the Boston Bruins’ 2010-11 Stanley Cup-winning squad.

On most nights of the first round, NBC Sports Group will produce two versions of NHL Live (one for NBCSN, one for USA Network/CNBC) from separate studios at its International Broadcast Center located in Stamford, Conn. NHL Live will feature a combination of hosts Liam McHughKathryn Tappen, Russ Thaler and Dave Briggs, and analysts and former players Mike MilburyKeith JonesJeremy Roenick and Anson Carter.

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NBC SPORTS GROUP 2015 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE CALL – TODAY AT 4 P.M. ET

NBC Sports Group’s lead NHL game commentary crew of Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator and Sports Illustrated 2014 Media Person of the Year Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk, and Inside-the-Glass analyst and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire, as well as Executive Producer Sam Flood, will preview the upcoming 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs on a media conference call today, April 14 at 4 p.m. ET. Media interested in participating should dial 719-325-2281; passcode 8306562.

  • WHAT: 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs conference call
  • WHO: Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire, Sam Flood
  • WHEN: Today, April 14 at 4 p.m. ET
  • NUMBER: 719-325-2281
  • PASSCODE: 8306562

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NHL ON NBC LEAD ANALYST EDDIE OLCZYK JOINS THE TWITTERVERSE – @EDDIEOLCZYK

NHL on NBC lead game analyst and U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk is now on Twitter.

@EddieOlczyk – “At my age – finally into the twitter world. Looking forward to hockey and horse chat! Busy time of year ahead #NHLPlayoffs – nothing better!!”

Fans can follow “Edzo” on Twitter (@EddieOlczyk), where he will provide insight and analysis throughout the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Olczyk will provide analysis on CSN Chicago for Games 1 and 2 of the Blackhawks-Predators series, before joining Mike “Doc” Emrick and Pierre McGuire for Game 2 of Penguins-Rangers on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and Game 3 of Islanders-Capitals on Sunday at noon ET on NBC.

 

WHO’S YOUR PICK TO WIN IT ALL? JOIN THE 2015 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE

The 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Samsung  at NHL.com/Bracket enables the most passionate fans in sports to predict each and every series through the Stanley Cup Final in a competition for exciting prizes and bragging rights. New this year, Match-up Analysis with Insights from SAP will help fans determine who has the edge in each series.

Fans can register for the Bracket Challenge at NHL.com/Bracket in English or French and create leagues to challenge their friends. Once the match-ups are set, fans can make their predictions in the interactive bracket online up until April 15, the first day of the Playoffs. Fans will be able keep track of their brackets online and via mobile devices at NHL.com/Bracket and share their picks via email or post their selections on Facebook and Twitter by using the official hashtag #NHLBracketChallenge. Fans also can play the Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Samsung through the NHL app.

Starting now, fans can register for the Bracket Challenge at NHL.com/Bracket in English or French and create leagues to challenge their friends. Once the match-ups are set, fans can make their predictions in the interactive bracket online up until April 15, the first day of the Playoffs. Click here for more information.

 

FOUR GAME 1 MATCHUPS ON WEDNESDAY, INCLUDING ISLANDERS-CAPITALS AT 7 P.M. ET ON USA NETWORK & BLACKHAWKS-PREDATORS AT 8:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group’s first-round coverage begins tomorrow with four Game 1 matchups, beginning with a pair of games at 7 p.m. ET, when P.K. Subban and the (1) Montreal Canadiens host Andrew Hammond and the (4) Ottawa Senators on NHL Network, and John Tavares and the (3) New York Islanders visit Alex Ovechkin and the (2) Washington Capitals on USA Network.

NBCSN’s game coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET, when Shea Weber and the (2) Nashville Predators host Jonathan Toews and the (3) Chicago Blackhawks. Coverage continues on USA Network at 10 p.m. ET, when Johnny Gaudreau and the (3) Calgary Flames face Daniel Sedin and the (2) Vancouver Canucks.

Click here for full telecast info for Wednesday and Thursday night’s Game 1 matchups.

 

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream comprehensive coverage of games airing on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC on NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–