FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 23rd, 2019

BOSTON BRUINS HOST ST. LOUIS BLUES IN GAME 1 OF 2019 STANLEY CUP FINAL MONDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC

Pre-Game Coverage Starts at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live

Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire to Call 13th Consecutive Stanley Cup Final as Broadcast Team

2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Continue to Deliver Local and National Viewership Milestones

NBC Sports Boston Provides Comprehensive Local Bruins Coverage Through Stanley Cup Final

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 23, 2019 – NBC Sports begins exclusive coverage of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final this Monday, May 27, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, when Patrice Bergeron and the Boston Bruins host Vladimir Tarasenko and the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Pre-game coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a special two-hour edition of NHL Live amongst the fans outside of TD Garden.

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 2019 Stanley Cup Final games.

Seven-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 2019 Stanley Cup Final on NBC and NBCSN.

This marks the 13th 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. Coverage of all 2019 Stanley Cup Final games will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Mike Tirico will host Game 1 coverage from TD Garden on Monday night. Liam McHugh will anchor pre-game, intermission and post-game coverage on-site throughout the series, alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones. Kathryn Tappen will host pre-game and post-game coverage from outside sets in Boston and St. Louis throughout the series, capturing the scene amongst the fans alongside analysts and former players Jeremy Roenick, Brian Boucher, Anson Carter and Patrick Sharp

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2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS CONTINUE TO DELIVER LOCAL AND NATIONAL VIEWERSHIP MILESTONES

The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs continue to deliver viewership records and milestones. Following are some recent highlights:

  • Last night’s San Jose-St. Louis WCF Game 6 averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 1.9 million viewers on NBCSN, up 22% the last WCF Game 6 (2017, ANA-NSH, 1.558 million) and up 29% vs. the same Game 6 matchup in 2016 (1.476 million).
  • TV-only viewership peaked with 2.210 million viewers.
  • Digitally, last night’s San Jose-St. Louis WCF Game 6 produced an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 92,700 viewers, making it the second-highest AMA for a Conference Final game on record.
  • Locally, St. Louis delivered a 20.8 rating, NBC Sports’ highest NHL rating on record in the market. San Jose scored a 3.2 rating.


2019 STANLEY CUP FINAL – ST. LOUIS BLUES VS. BOSTON BRUINS

This year’s Stanley Cup Final is a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final which was punctuated by one of the most iconic goals in NHL history, when Bruins Hall of Famer Bobby Orr scored the Cup-clinching goal in overtime as he flew across the crease past Blues goaltender Glenn Hall.

The Bruins advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last week following a dominant 4-0 win in Game 4 to complete a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. Tuukka Rask continued his exceptional postseason performance, making 24 saves in the shutout. With their Eastern Conference Final sweep, Boston reaches the Stanley Cup Final for the 20th time in team history and third in the past nine seasons (2011, 2013).

Bruins forward David Backes advances the Stanley Cup Final for the first time and will play against his former team in St. Louis. Backes, a 13-year veteran, played the first 10 years of his NHL career with the Blues, and served as the team’s captain from 2011-16.

St. Louis advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1970 with a 5-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Tuesday night. Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn each scored a power-play goal, David Perron had a goal, and Ryan O’Reilly contributed three assists for St. Louis in the win.

The Blues’ improbable second-half run has been led by rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, who made 25 saves last night. St. Louis is the only team in the expansion era (1967-68) to have been in last place in the overall League standings at any point after its 20th game of the season and rebound to make the Stanley Cup Final. They also did so in their inaugural season, reaching the Final after holding the No. 12 seed through games played Dec. 12, 1967. The Blues, looking to win their first-ever Stanley Cup, hope for a better outcome than in the 1970 Cup Final when they were swept by the Bruins.

 

Following is the full telecast schedule for the 2019 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)
Mon., May 27 Game 1 – St. Louis at Boston NBC 8 p.m.
Wed., May 29 Game 2 – St. Louis at Boston NBCSN 8 p.m.
Sat., June 1 Game 3 – Boston at St. Louis NBCSN 8 p.m.
Mon., June 3 Game 4 – Boston at St. Louis NBC 8 p.m.
Thur., June 6 Game 5 – St. Louis at Boston* NBC 8 p.m.
Sun., June 9 Game 6 – Boston at St. Louis* NBC 8 p.m.
Wed., June 12 Game 7 – St. Louis at Boston* NBC 8 p.m.

*if necessary

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COMPREHENSIVE BRUINS COVERAGE ON NBC SPORTS BOSTON

NBC Sports Boston will provide comprehensive local multi-platform coverage for the Boston Bruins throughout the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

NBC Sports Boston will offer live post-game shows and analysis throughout the Stanley Cup Final for the Bruins. Michael Felger, along with former NHL player Tony Amonte and U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Olympic gold medalist Meghan Duggan will headline postgame coverage. NBCSB Bruins Insider Joe Haggerty will weigh in from on-site at the arena throughout the series. NBCSB’s daily programming, including Early EditionBoston Sports Tonight, and simulcasts of The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand & Felger and Mazz shows will also provide in-depth coverage throughout the Final. The My Teams app will offer the postgame show streamed live as well as additional extensive Bruins coverage.


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 to 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–