FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 14th, 2019

NBC SPORTS CELEBRATES HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA THIS SUNDAY WITH NHL TRIPLEHEADER ACROSS NBC AND NBCSN

Hockey Day in America Examines Hockey’s Impact and Influence Across U.S. Through Feature Stories and Profiles

Studio Coverage On-Site From Hockeytown at The Rink at Campus Martius Park in Downtown Detroit

HDIA Begins with Rangers-Penguins at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, Followed by Blues-Wild at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC

NBCSN’s Coverage Begins at 6 p.m. ET with Flyers-Red Wings

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 14, 2019 – NBC Sports celebrates Hockey Day in America this Sunday with an NHL tripleheader on NBC and NBCSN, as well as a collection of stories and features which explore hockey’s impact and influence across the U.S.

Game one of the tripleheader features Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, followed by a Central Division battle between Vladimir Tarasenko and the St. Louis Blues vs. Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Hockey Day in America coverage shifts to NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET, when Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings host Claude Giroux and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pre-game studio coverage begins at noon ET on NBC with NHL Live, which will be on-site in Hockeytown at The Rink at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit, Mich. Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen will anchor pre-game, intermission and post-game coverage throughout the day alongside analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick. In addition, Tappen will provide reports and interviews from the Team USA vs. Canada women’s hockey game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports’ live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will provide live streaming coverage for Hockey Day in America.

NBC SPORTS CELEBRATES HDIA WITH FEATURES EXAMINING HOCKEY’S INFLUENCE ACROSS U.S.

Throughout Hockey Day in America on Sunday, NBC Sports will shine a light on various stories that celebrate the impact that hockey has had in the U.S. Feature stories that will air throughout the day include:

  • Team USA’s Shelley LooneyShelley Looney scored the game-winning goal for the U.S. women’s hockey team in the gold medal game at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, which took place 21 years ago to the day of Hockey Day in America this Sunday. Looney persevered through dyslexia as a child to ultimately graduate from Northeastern University and make the ’98 Olympic Team. She now lives in Buffalo where she’s heavily involved in youth hockey and will coach the U.S. women’s team at the World University Games in Russia in March. Click here to watch a preview.

 

  • Charlie and Will Capalbo – Former Fairfield co-op high school goaltender Charlie Capalbo has been in a battle for his life the past two years. Charlie was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoblastic lymphoma in March 2017 shortly after the high school hockey season. Following treatments which helped put the cancer in remission, Charlie was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Luckily, Charlie is again in remission, and his younger brother Will Capalbo, also a goaltender with Fairfield, is a match for a bone-marrow transplant. NBC Sports details Charlie and his family’s courageous fight, and how the local community has rallied around the Capalbos to provide their support. Click here to watch a preview.

 

  • Detroit Ice Dreams – Led by inner-city Detroit native and former semi-pro player Jason McCrimmon, Detroit Ice Dreams is a nonprofit that aims to grow the sport of hockey in Hockeytown and minimizes barriers which prevent underrepresented communities access to the game. Click here to watch a preview.

 

  • Bill Parsley and The “Over 60” Hockey Club – Four mornings a week, the Quincy “Bald Eagles” – an over-60 hockey team of retirees and grandfathers – hit the ice, led by their senior-most member, 85-year-old goaltender Bill Parsley. Despite his injury history – a pair of detached biceps, a pair of hip replacements and surgeries on both shoulders – Parsley serves as an inspiration to his team and continues to flash the pads in net. Click here to watch a preview.

 

  • The Hughes Brothers; America’s First Family of Hockey – No American family has ever had three players taken in the first round of the NHL Draft, but in the next few years, the Hughes brothers have a shot. Oldest brother Quinn Hughes was selected 7th overall in the 2018 draft by the Vancouver Canucks and currently plays college hockey at Michigan; Jack Hughes appears to be the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2019 NHL Draft and plays for the U.S. National Team Development Program; and youngest brother Luke Hughes is an up-and-coming defenseman for Little Caesars AAA U-15 team.

 

  • Arizona State Sun Devils – For years, the Arizona State Sun Devils were known for their successful club hockey program. They finally launched a NCAA Division I program a few years ago, and after some difficult seasons, are in the midst of their most successful year in school history, currently ranked No. 12 in the country. The club is led by sophomore and Phoenix native Johnny Walker, who currently leads the NCAA in goals with 22, and head coach and ASU alum Greg Powers. The Sun Devils are on the verge of become the first independent school to make the NCAA tournament since 1992.

 

  • Minnesota’s Blind Hockey Team – Minnesota Hockey and the Minnesota Wild have partnered this year to launch the Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey program, a new hockey program for players in Minnesota with visual impairments. Blind hockey, which is the newest discipline of disabled hockey, is the same exhilarating, fast-paced sport of hockey with minimal rule adaptations to make the game accessible for players who are all legally blind.

 

  • David Quinn and Mike Sullivan – The respective head coaches for the Rangers and Penguins in Game One of NBC Sports’ Hockey Day in America tripleheader will clash on Sunday, but share a similar path to their coaching roles. Quinn and Sullivan became friends as teammates at Boston University and discuss their relationship and New England roots.

 

NBC SPORTS’ HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA COVERAGE ORIGINATES FROM THE RINK AT CAMPUS MARTIUS PARK IN DOWNTOWN DETROIT

Sunday’s Hockey Day in America coverage begins at noon ET on NBC with live studio coverage from Hockeytown at The Rink at Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit, just down the street from nearby Little Caesars Arena where the Flyers will face the Red Wings at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN on Sunday.

The Rink at Campus Martius Park attracts over 75,000 skaters during the Winter season including many of the world’s best Olympic figure skating athletes that train locally in Metro Detroit. The Rink at Campus Martius Park is supported through the Downtown Detroit Partnership, which is at the forefront of Detroit’s transformation through public space development and innovative programming.

HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA – RANGERS-PENGUINS – SUNDAY AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

New York (24-24-8, 56 pts) is 11 points behind Pittsburgh for the second Wild Card spot and is coming off a 4-3 loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday. The Penguins beat the Rangers, 7-2, in their only previous meeting this season on January 2, as Crosby was one of five Pens to record a goal and an assist. The Penguins (30-20-7, 67 pts), defeated Edmonton, 3-1, on Wednesday Night Hockey on NBCSN, and welcome Calgary on Saturday.

John Forslund (play-by-play) and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Pittsburgh.

HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA – BLUES-WILD – SUNDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

St. Louis (28-22-5, 61 pts) is currently in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, two points clear of Minnesota (27-25-5, 59 pts). The Blues beat the Devils, 8-3, on Tuesday for their seventh consecutive victory. The Wild fell to Philadelphia, 5-4, on Tuesday. Minnesota beat St. Louis 3-2, in their most recent encounter on Nov. 11, as Zach Parise scored for Wild in the win.

Six-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA – FLYERS-RED WINGS – SUNDAY AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Flyers (26-24-7, 59 pts) are one of the NHL’s hottest teams, winning for the 10th time in 12 games on Tuesday with a 5-4 win over Minnesota. Detroit (22-28-7, 51 pts) defeated the Predators, 3-2, in Nashville on Tuesday. This Sunday’s matchup is the second half of a home-and-home between the Wings and Flyers, which opens on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Chris Cuthbert (play-by-play), AJ Mleczko (analyst), and Joe Micheletti (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Sun., February 17 Hockey Day in America – NHL Live NBC 12 p.m.
Hockey Day in America – N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh NBC 12:30 p.m.
Hockey Day in America – St. Louis at Minnesota NBC 3:30 p.m.
Hockey Day in America – Philadelphia at Detroit NBCSN 6 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 8:45 p.m.

*Immediately following game coverage

2018-19 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports will deliver coverage of a record 109 regular-season games during the 2018-19 season, highlighted by the debut of “Wednesday Night Hockey” on NBCSN, which will showcase the network’s most diverse schedule since it acquired NHL rights prior to the 2005-06 season, as well as NHL’s current and rising stars. All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app to authenticated users via TV Everywhere.

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

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 2018-19 NHL season 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 –