FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 14th, 2015

SIDNEY CROSBY AND PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VISIT PATRICE BERGERON AND BOSTON BRUINS ON NBCSN’S “WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY”

NBC Sports Group 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® Media Conference Call – Tomorrow, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. ET

Wednesday Night Rivalry – Penguins-Bruins – 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Patrick Kane Looks To Extend 26-Game Point Streak Tomorrow Night When Blackhawks Host Avalanche at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Kane and Nathan MacKinnon Among Stars Appearing on NBCSN This Week

College Hockey – Michigan State vs. Northeastern on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 14, 2015 – NBC Sports presents a matchup of conference foes this week on Wednesday Night Rivalry, when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. This week’s NHL coverage begins tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. ET as Patrick Kane looks to extend his 26-game point streak when the Chicago Blackhawks host Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. Pre-game coverage on NHL Live begins one hour prior to puck drop tomorrow and Wednesday.

NBCSN will also present college hockey action this Saturday at 7 p.m. ET when the Michigan State Spartans visit the Northeastern Huskies.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets and connected TVs – will stream this week’s NHL and college hockey coverage.

Three-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and analyst Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call of Penguins-Bruins from TD Garden on Wednesday night.

Pat Foley (play-by-play) and Olczyk will call Avalanche-Blackhawks, and Steve Schlanger (play-by-play) and Anson Carter (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will provide commentary for Michigan State-Northeastern.

Kathryn Tappen anchors tomorrow’s studio coverage alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones, while Liam McHugh hosts NHL Live on Wednesday with Milbury and Jones. NHL insider Bob McKenzie will join NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage to provide the latest in-depth news from around the league.

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2016 BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL – TOMORROW, DEC. 15 AT 4 P.M. ET.

NBC Sports Group’s lead NHL broadcast team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire, along with NHL Live studio analyst and former Boston Bruins head coach and defenseman Mike Milbury, and executive producer Sam Flood will preview the upcoming 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®, featuring the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins, on a media conference call tomorrow, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. ET.

Media interested in participating should call 719-325-2177; Passcode: 7024084.

The 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic features an Original Six matchup between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., home of the NFL’s New England Patriots. Canadiens-Bruins is the most-played rivalry in NHL history, with more than 700 regular-season games and 34 Stanley Cup Playoff series played between the two clubs.

  • WHAT: 2016 NHL Winter Classic Media Conference Call
  • WHO: Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire, Mike Milbury, Sam Flood
  • WHEN: Tomorrow, Dec. 15 at 4 p.m. ET
  • NUMBER: 719-325-2177
  • PASSCODE: 7024084

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY – PENGUINS-BRUINS – 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Penguins enter their Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup with the Bruins less than one week after the firing of head coach Mike Johnston. Pittsburgh began the season with a 15-10-3 record (33 pts), currently fifth in the Metropolitan Division. New head coach Mike Sullivan makes his debut tonight at home against Washington, prior to Wednesday night’s game in Boston on NBCSN. The Penguins are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at home to the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night. Evgeni Malkin, who either leads the Penguins or is tied for the team lead in goals (13), assists (13), and points (26), forced overtime Friday night with a game-tying goal with 1:10 left in regulation.

The Bruins (16-9-3, 35 pts; 3rd in Atlantic Division) make their second straight appearance this week on Wednesday Night Rivalry, following a 3-1 win over Montreal last Wednesday. Boston has recorded at least one point in 10 of their last 11 games (8-1-2). The Bruins are led offensively by Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who boast identical marks in goals (9), assists (19) and points (28). Boston ranks third in the NHL in goals scored (90), while Pittsburgh ranks 27th (66).

NBCSN kicks of its Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage tomorrow night at 11:30 p.m. ET with a Penguins-Bruins episode of NHL Rivals, examining the history between the two clubs.


AVALANCHE-BLACKHAWKS – TOMORROW AT 8:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Patrick Kane will attempt to extend his 26-game point streak tomorrow night in front of a national audience against Colorado at 8:30 p.m. ET. Kane’s streak with at least one point is the longest in the NHL since the 1992-93 season, when Mats Sundin went 30 games with a point for the Quebec Nordiques. Over the 26 games, Kane has posted 40 points (16g/24a), and the Blackhawks have gone 15-7-4 in that span. Chicago (17-10-4, 38 pts) currently sits in second place in the crowded Central Division, where second through seventh places are separated by nine points. Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL all-time record with 51 consecutive games with at least one point during the 1983-84 season.

Colorado sits last in the Central Division (14-16-1, 29 pts), but has won five of its last seven games, including road victories against division foes Nashville and St. Louis last weekend. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov led the Avs to road victories on back-to-back nights, stopping a combined 76 of 79 shots in the two wins.

 

MICHIGAN STATE-NORTHEASTERN – SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2015-16 college hockey campaign continues this season with an interconference matchup between the Michigan State Spartans and the Northeastern Huskies. The Spartans defeated Wisconsin last Friday 4-3, but dropped the second game of the series 3-0 on Saturday. Northeastern earned a 3-3 tie against No. 2 Boston College on Saturday night, and lost to Boston College 4-3 on Sunday.

Following is this week’s NHL and college hockey coverage on NBCSN:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Tues., December 15 NHL Top 10 NBCSN 7 p.m.
NHL Live NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
Colorado at Chicago** NBCSN 8:30 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 11 p.m.
NHL Rivals – Pittsburgh-Boston NBCSN 11:30 p.m.
Wed., December 16 NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
Wednesday Night Rivalry – Pittsburgh at Boston NBCSN 8 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 10:30 a.m.
Sat., December 19 College Hockey – Michigan State at Northeastern NBCSN 7 p.m.

*immediately following game coverage
**subject to local blackout in Chicago          

2015-16 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 105 NHL regular-season games during the 2015-16 season, featuring 12 games on NBC and 93 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. This year’s coverage includes 24 Wednesday Night Rivalry games, 6 Wednesday Nightcaps, 12 Sunday Night Hockey contests, and NHL All-Star coverage.

Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive NHL coverage this season.


NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NHL markets such as Boston (Bruins), Philadelphia (Flyers), Washington D.C. (Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and the Bay Area (Sharks), will air more than 300 live NHL games and surround the 2015-16 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.

-NBC SPORTS GROUP-