FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 29th, 2016

CROSBY VS. OVECHKIN IN PRIMETIME – NBC PRESENTS GAME 2 OF PENGUINS-CAPITALS ON SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. ET

WESTERN CONFERENCE GAME 1 DOUBLEHEADER TONIGHT ON NBCSN – BLUES-STARS AT 8 P.M. ET, FOLLOWED BY PREDATORS-SHARKS AT 10:30 P.M. ET

Saturday’s Coverage Begins at 3 p.m. ET – Game 2 of Islanders-Lightning

NBC Presents Live Coverage of NHL Draft Lottery Saturday at 8 p.m. ET Prior to Penguins-Capitals Game 2

 

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 29, 2016 – This weekend’s NHL Stanley Cup Playoff coverage is highlighted by a Saturday night primetime showdown on NBC between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, as the Washington Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of their series at 8 p.m. ET. Saturday’s coverage on NBC begins at 3 p.m. ET with Game 2 between John Tavares and the New York Islanders and Ben Bishop and the Tampa Bay Lightning, as the Lightning look to even the series at one game apiece.

NBCSN presents a Western Conference Game 1 doubleheader tonight, beginning at 8 p.m. ET, when Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars host David Backes and the St. Louis Blues. Coverage shifts to the west coast at 10:30 p.m. ET, immediately following Blues-Stars, when Joe Pavelski and the San Jose Sharks open the Second Round with Game 1 against Shea Weber and the Nashville Predators.

NBC will also present Game 2 of Blues-Stars on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, followed by Game 2 of Predators-Sharks at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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 call tomorrow night’s Penguins-Capitals Game 2 matchup from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Kenny Albert (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will have the call of Islanders-Lightning Game 2 from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

John Forslund (play-by-play) and McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call Games 1 and 2 of the Blues-Stars series, and Chris Cuthbert (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will handle commentary for Predators-Sharks.

Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappen, and Dave Briggs will anchor this weekend’s pre-game, post-game and intermission on NBC and NBCSN coverage alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick and Anson Carter. Saturday night’s pre-game coverage will also feature live coverage of the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery, which will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks in 2016 NHL Draft.

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“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. Friday editions will include weekend information.

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THE PASS – FRIDAY, APRIL 29- SUNDAY, MAY 1 (All times ET)

FRIDAY, APRIL 29
Time Coverage Network Commentators
7 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
8 p.m. Game 1 – (2) St. Louis at (1) Dallas NBCSN John Forslund,
Pierre McGuire
  NHL Live NBCSN Dave Briggs, Jeremy Roenick, Anson Carter
10:30 p.m. Game 1 – (WC1) Nashville at (3) San Jose NBCSN Chris Cuthbert, Joe Micheletti

SATURDAY,  APRIL 30
3 p.m. Game 2 – (WC1) N.Y. Islanders at (2) Tampa Bay NBC Kenny Albert, Brian Boucher
  NHL Live NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury,
Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
8 p.m. Game 2 – (2) Pittsburgh at (1) Washington NBC Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie
Olczyk, Pierre McGuire

SUNDAY, MAY 1
3 p.m. Game 2 – (2) St. Louis at (1) Dallas NBC John Forslund,
Pierre McGuire
  NHL Live NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
7 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick, Anson Carter
8 p.m. Game 2 – (WC1) Nashville at (3) San Jose NBCSN Chris Cuthbert, Joe Micheletti

 

All Stanley Cup Playoff games will be presented on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will provide streaming coverage of games airing on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC via “TV Everywhere.”

For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

Note: If tonight’s Blues-Stars game runs beyond 10:45 p.m. ET, the start of Predators-Sharks can be seen on NHL Network, except in the Nashville and San Jose markets, where the game will start on NBCSN. If tonight’s Blues-Stars game goes to overtime, Blues-Stars will remain on NBCSN in all markets, and Predators-Sharks will begin on CNBC. Predators-Sharks will return to NBCSN following the conclusion of Blues-Stars.


GAME 1 – (2) BLUES AT (1) STARS – TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Blues advanced to the Second Round with a 3-2 Game 7 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, as Troy Brouwer scored the eventual game-winner midway through the third period. The Stars advanced following a 5-4 win in Game 6 of their series against the Minnesota Wild. This marks the 13th playoff series between the Blues and Stars, and it’s the most-played series in both franchise’s playoff histories (includes Minnesota North Stars). The Blues and Stars last met in the postseason in 2001, when St. Louis swept Dallas in four games in the Western Conference Semifinals.


GAME 1 – (WC1) PREDATORS AT (3) SHARKS – TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Nashville advanced to the Second Round with a 2-1 Game 7 win against Anaheim on Wednesday night in the first-ever Game 7 in Predators history. Colin Wilson and Paul Gaustad scored for Nashville, while Pekka Rinne made 36 saves to hand Anaheim its fourth consecutive Game 7 loss at home. The Sharks defeated the Kings in five games to advance, led by Joe Pavelski, who scored five goals in the series. San Jose has defeated Nashville in both of their previous playoff series, including a 4-1 series victory in their last encounter in the 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals.


GAME 2 – (WC1) ISLANDERS AT (2) LIGHTNING – SATURDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC

The Islanders won Game 1 in Tampa on Wednesday night by a score of 5-3. Shane Prince scored twice for New York, and John Tavares netted his sixth goal of the postseason, tied for most in the league with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots midway through the second period, while Thomas Greiss made 33 saves for the Islanders.


GAME 2 – (2) PENGUINS AT (1) CAPITALS – SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC

The Caps took Game 1 of their series against the Penguins in dramatic fashion on Thursday night, as T.J. Oshie scored on a wraparound in overtime to complete his first career postseason hat trick and give Washington a 4-3 victory. Nick Bonino added a goal and an assist for the Penguins, while Evgeni Malkin netted his third goal of the playoffs. Ovechkin assisted on Oshie’s second goal and posted a plus-3 rating, while Crosby was a minus-3.

 

GAME 1 OF PENGUINS-CAPITALS IS MOST-STREAMED SECOND ROUND GAME EVER ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

Last night’s Game 1 matchup between the Penguins and Capitals on NBC Sports Live Extra was the most-streamed Second Round game ever. Viewers streamed 8.454 million minutes of the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime win on Live Extra, up 196% vs. last year’s Caps-Rangers Game 1 matchup in the Second Round (2.852 million).


GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the fifth consecutive year, NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network are combining to televise every Stanley Cup Playoff game nationally.

 

Network Games
NBC 6
NBCSN 26
USA Network 5
CNBC 10
NHL Network 2
Total 49

 

One-goal Games: 28

OT games: 8

 

COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL COVERAGE

Through the NBC Sports Regional Networks, comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be provided daily via NBC Sports Regional Networks, available in more than 43 million U.S. households. NBC Sports Regional Networks serve the hometown fans of the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals, delivering extensive pre- and post-game coverage as well as breaking news and analysis throughout both teams’ playoff runs.


NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff coverage 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, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–