FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 28th, 2016
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS HOST BOSTON BRUINS IN 2013 STANLEY CUP FINAL REMATCH ON NBC’S “NHL GAME OF THE WEEK” THIS SUNDAY AT 12:30 P.M. ET
Bruins, Red Wings, Avalanche and Flyers Battle for Playoff Lives on NBC and NBCSN This Week
Wednesday Night Rivalry – Flyers Host Capitals in Potential First-Round Playoff Matchup – 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN
NBCSN Presents Two Matchups Between Blues and Avalanche – Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. ET, Sunday Night Hockey Matchup at 8 p.m. ET
Monday Night Doubleheader on NBCSN – Sabres-Red Wings at 7:30 p.m. ET, Followed by Kings-Sharks at 10 p.m. ET
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 28, 2016 – NBC Sports Group’s NHL “Push For The Playoffs” includes a Stanley Cup Final rematch with potential playoff implications on NBC’s NHL Game of the Week, when Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks host Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Coverage begins at noon ET on NBC with NHL Live, NBC Sports Group’s pre- and post-game studio show.
All four days of NHL coverage on NBC and NBCSN this week feature teams fighting their playoff lives with two weeks remaining in the NHL regular season. This week’s Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup at 8 p.m. ET pits Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals against Claude Giroux and the Philadelphia Flyers, who are currently tied for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
NBCSN presents a pair of matchups between David Backes and the St. Louis Blues and Gabriel Landeskog and the Colorado Avalanche, who are five points behind Minnesota for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. St. Louis hosts Colorado tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. ET and visits the Avalanche on Sunday Night Hockey at 8 p.m. ET.
This week’s coverage kicks off with a doubleheader tonight on NBCSN, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET, when Pavel Datsyuk and the Detroit Red Wings, who are tied with Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the East, host Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres. Coverage shifts west to San Jose at 10 p.m. ET, when Joe Pavelski and the Sharks host Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings.
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 this week’s Bruins-Blackhawks NHL Game of the Week from United Center in Chicago, Ill.
Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Olczyk, and McGuire will have the call of this week’s Caps-Flyers Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa., and Chris Cuthbert (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call NBCSN’s Blues-Avs Sunday Night Hockey contest from Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.
Albert and McGuire will provide commentary of tonight’s Sabres-Red Wings game from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich., Albert and Joe Micheletti (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call tomorrow night’s Avs-Blues game at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., and Randy Hahn (play-by-play), Jamie Baker (analyst) and Bret Hedican (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call tonight’s Kings-Sharks game from SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappen, and Dave Briggs will anchor this week’s NHL Live studio coverage, alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick, and Brian Boucher. NHL insider Bob McKenzie will join NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage to provide the latest in-depth news from around the league.
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 coverage airing on NBC and NBCSN.
NHL GAME OF THE WEEK – BRUINS-BLACKHAWKS – 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
The Bruins and Blackhawks clash in a rematch of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final on NBC’s NHL Game of the Week this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Boston (40-28-8, 88 pts) is currently third in the Atlantic Division, three points behind second-place Tampa Bay (91 pts). The Bruins are coming off a 3-1 win against Toronto, which snapped Boston’s five-game losing streak. Boston defeated Chicago in their only previous matchup this season on March 3 by a score of 4-2, as Patrice Bergeron scored a goal and added an assist in the win.
Chicago (44-25-7, 95 pts) is also currently in third place in its division, four points behind Dallas and St. Louis in the Central (99 pts). The Blackhawks clinched their eighth consecutive playoff berth on Sunday evening with a 3-2 win in Vancouver, as Andrew Ladd scored the eventual game-winner with 2:27 remaining in the third period. The Blackhawks have won back-to-back games after going 1-4-2 in their previous seven games.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY – CAPITALS-FLYERS – 8 P.M ET ON NBCSN
This week’s edition of Wednesday Night Rivalry between the Caps and Flyers could be a potential preview of a first-round playoff matchup. Washington (53-16-5, 111 pts) has already clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and needs just one more point to win the franchise’s second Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s best regular-season team. Philadelphia (36-25-13, 85 pts) is currently in fifth place in the Metro Division and sit in the second Wild Card spot, which will be Washington’s first-round opponent.
The Flyers are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, but are coming off a 2-1 loss to Arizona on Saturday night. Philadelphia captain Claude Giroux scored in three consecutive games last week, and Sean Couturier enters the week on a four-game point streak (1g/3a). Washington was shut out at home by St. Louis 4-0 on Saturday night, but has recorded a point in all three games against Philadelphia this season (2-0-1). Alex Ovechkin continues to lead the league with 43 goals, and goaltender Braden Holtby (45 wins) needs four more wins in the Caps’ final eight games to surpass Martin Brodeur (48 wins) for the most wins by a goaltender in a single season in NHL history.
BLUES-AVALANCHE – SUNDAY NIGHT HOCKEY AT 8 P.M. ET AND TOMORROW NIGHT AT 8:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
NBCSN’ features a pair of matchups between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche this week, beginning tomorrow night in St. Louis at 8:30 p.m. ET, and concluding in Denver on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
St. Louis (45-22-9, 99 pts) is tied with Dallas for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference. The Blues have won four consecutive games and are coming off a franchise-record fourth consecutive shutout in a 4-0 win against Washington. The Blues have not allowed a goal in 240:18 minutes of game time, and also defeated Vancouver (twice) and San Jose in that span. Brian Elliott recorded the first three shutouts, while Jake Allen stopped 32 shots in Washington on Saturday night.
Colorado (38-33-4, 80 pts) is fighting for its playoff life, currently five points behind Minnesota (85 pts) for the second Wild Card spot. The Avs were shutout by Minnesota 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, and all of their final seven games feature playoff contenders. Colorado has had the upper hand against St. Louis this season, however, winning all three of their previous matchups.
SABRES-RED WINGS – TONIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Detroit plays host to Buffalo tonight on NBCSN as the Red Wings look to secure a crucial two points in their push for the playoffs. The Red Wings (37-27-11, 85 pts) are tied in points with the Flyers for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but Philadelphia holds the tiebreaker with a game in hand. Detroit is coming off a 7-2 loss to the Penguins at home on Saturday. The Red Wings are 3-1-0 against the Sabres this season, including a 3-0 victory in Buffalo in their last meeting on Jan. 22.
The Sabres (31-34-10, 72 pts) are seventh in the Atlantic Division, but have gone 4-1-1 in their last six games. Rookie sensation Jack Eichel leads the team with 23 goals, and has scored a pair of goals in four games against Detroit this season.
KINGS-SHARKS – TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
San Jose hosts Los Angeles in the second game of NBCSN’s doubleheader tonight, as both teams battle for position in the three-team race in the Pacific Division. The Kings (45-25-5, 95 pts) hold a three-point lead over Anaheim (92 pts) and San Jose (88 pts) in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles has gone 12-5-1, dating back to Feb. 20, but has lost its last three road contests. In their most recent meeting, Marian Gaborik scored on a breakaway with 54 seconds left in overtime to give the Kings a 3-2 win in San Jose.
The Sharks (41-28-6, 88 pts) are looking to snap a three-game losing streak, including their 4-2 loss to the Stars on Saturday. San Jose boasts two players (Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton) in the top 10 in the NHL in points, and Thornton is tied for second in the league with 55 assists. San Jose is tied for the most road wins in the NHL (25), but has a losing record at home (16-18-3).
Following is this week’s NHL coverage on NBC and NBCSN:
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Mon., March 28 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Buffalo at Detroit** | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. | |
| Los Angeles at San Jose | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 12:30 a.m. | |
| Tues., March 29 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. |
| Colorado at St. Louis | NBCSN | 8:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 11 p.m. | |
| Wed., March 30 | NHL Rivals – Capitals-Flyers | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| NHL Live | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| Wednesday Night Rivalry – Washington at Philadelphia | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | |
| Sun., April 3 | NHL Live | NBC | Noon |
| NHL Game of the Week – Boston at Chicago | NBC | 12:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Live | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| Sunday Night Hockey – St. Louis at Colorado | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Sunday Shootout – The Week In Review | NBCSN | 11:30 p.m. |
*immediately following game coverage
**subject to local blackouts
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, six 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.
NHL SUNDAY SHOOTOUT
NBCSN’s NHL Sunday Shootout recaps the biggest NHL moments every week, following each of NBCSN’s Sunday Night Hockey matchups. The program, hosted by Dave Briggs, will feature insight and analysis from NBC Sports Group’s team of NHL commentators, including Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick, Brian Boucher, and Anson Carter.
NHL Sunday Shootout will serve as a weekly roundup for NHL fans on most Sunday nights leading into the postseason. In addition to insight and analysis recapping the week around the league, NHL Sunday Shootout will preview the upcoming week and feature recurring segments, including the NHL Live Roundtable, highlights from the Game of the Week, the NHL Best of 7 and Inside The Numbers.
-NBC SPORTS GROUP-
