FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 5th, 2018

WASHINGTON CAPITALS CAN WIN FIRST-EVER STANLEY CUP IN FRANCHISE HISTORY THIS THURSDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC

Stanley Cup Final Game 5 – Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights – Capitals Lead Series 3-1

Alex Ovechkin & Capitals in Search of First Stanley Cup in Franchise’s 44-Year History

Stanley Cup Viewership is Best in Three Years Through First Four Games; Up 5% Vs. 2017

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 5, 2018 – Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals can win the first-ever Stanley Cup in the franchise’s 44-year history this Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC with a Game 5 victory against Marc-Andre Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a two-hour edition of NHL Live.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will provide streaming coverage of all 2018 Stanley Cup Final games.

Six-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 the 2018 Stanley Cup Final on NBC and NBCSN. This marks the 12th consecutive year that Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire will call the Stanley Cup Final for NBC Sports, one of the longest streaks by any broadcast team calling a major U.S. team sport championship.

Thursday’s pre-game coverage on NBCSN will begin at 6 p.m. ET with a two-hour edition of NHL Live. Host Liam McHugh will anchor pre-game, intermission and post-game coverage on-site, alongside analyst and former player Keith Jones. In addition, Kathryn Tappen and Paul Burmeister will host pre-game and post-game coverage from an outdoor set at T-Mobile Arena, capturing the scene amongst the fans alongside analysts and former players Jeremy Roenick, Brian Boucher, and Anson Carter.

***

STANLEY CUP VIEWERSHIP IS BEST IN THREE YEARS THROUGH FIRST FOUR GAMES; UP 5% VS. 2017

Despite last night’s Game 4 blowout, in which the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the 2018 Stanley Cup Final is averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.443 million viewers through the first four games across NBC, NBCSN, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched Final in three years, according to Fast National data by the Nielsen Company and streaming data by Adobe Analytics.

Following are the Top 10 markets for Saturday’s Game 4 on NBCSN:

Rank Market Rating
1 Washington, D.C. 22.90
2 Las Vegas 20.48
3 Baltimore 12.39
4 Richmond 10.54
5 Buffalo 8.88
6 Pittsburgh 6.92
7 Minneapolis 6.53
8 Denver 5.13
9 St. Louis 4.60
10 Nashville 4.50

 

Click here for more information.

***

STANLEY CUP FINAL GAME 5 – WASHINGTON CAPITALS AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC FROM T-MOBILE ARENA IN LAS VEGAS

The Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights, 6-2, in Game 4 on Monday to move within a game of winning their first-ever Stanley Cup in franchise history. Evgeny Kuznetsov, who leads all players this postseason with 31 points, led the charge with a game-high four assists, while six different Capitals players scored a goal to give Washington a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Despite outshooting the Capitals (30-23), the Golden Knights failed to capitalize on their opportunities, including an early miss on a wide-open net by James Neal in the first period.

Olczyk: “Those are the ones that keep you up at night and maybe even weeks.”

The Golden Knights return to T-Mobile Arena where they’re 7-2 in these playoffs. The Capitals are 9-3 on the road in the playoffs and have won two of their last three away from Capital One Arena.

Olczyk on Ovechkin’s production in this series: “He’s been doing it all. He’s been physical, he’s been picking his spots, he’s been selective, he’s selling out, and he’s blocking shots in all areas of the ice. When he has that energy he gets to those areas where he can be a difference-maker.”

Milbury on what he expects from Vegas on Thursday: “They didn’t roll over (in Game 4). I don’t expect them to roll over in Game 5. That’s been their m.o. all year and I don’t think it will change.”

Emrick on whether Vegas will be rewarded for missed opportunities: “If you believe that the hockey gods – those guys with long, flowy robes and stitched faces and missing teeth – if you believe they have a sense of humor and they even things out, the Golden Knights have to feel like they’re owed a couple.”

Click here for more Notes & Quotes from Game 4.

Following is the remaining telecast schedule for the 2018 Stanley Cup Final with networks and start times. Pre-game coverage will begin each night with NHL Live at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Date  Coverage  Network  Time (ET)
Thur., June 7 Game 5 – Washington at Vegas NBC 8 p.m.
Sun., June 10 Game 6 – Vegas at Washington* NBC 8 p.m.
Wed., June 13 Game 7 – Washington at Vegas* NBC 8 p.m.

*if necessary

***


ABOUT NBC SPORTS RADIO 

NBC Sports Radio is a joint venture between NBC Sports Group and Westwood One and will broadcast every Stanley Cup Final game. The joint venture provides sports talk programming to radio stations nationwide and is distributed by Westwood One. Content includes hourly sports news updates, daily features, and long-form shows. On social media, join the NBC Sports Radio community on Twitter at twitter.com/nbcsportsradioTo listen live or on demand, or to find a station, visit www.nbcsportsradio.com.


STREAMING COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will provide live streaming coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

–NBC SPORTS–