FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 3rd, 2014

SIX GAMES IN SEVEN DAYS HIGHLIGHT NBC SPORTS GROUP’S NHL COVERAGE THIS WEEK

Rangers Host Red Wings in NHL Game of the Week on NBC Sunday at Noon ET, Followed by Blackhawks-Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Alex Ovechkin & Capitals Face Scott Hartnell & Flyers on Wednesday Night Rivalry at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Coverage Begins Tuesday with New Episode of NHL Rivals at 11 p.m. ET

Team Canada Gold Medalists Sidney Crosby & Patrick Marleau Face Off as Sharks Host Penguins Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Coverage Starts Tonight with Sabres-Stars at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Followed by Lightning-Blues on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Penguins-Blackhawks NHL Stadium Series Scores Best Overnight Rating Ever on NBC for Non-Winter Classic Regular-Season Game

Stamford, Conn. – March 3, 2014 – An intense division rivalry and an Original Six matchup between two teams battling for playoff positioning headline NBC Sports Group’s NHL coverage this week, which features six games over seven days, including the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers facing off on Wednesday Night Rivalry at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, and the New York Rangers hosting the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday at Noon ET in the NHL Game of the Week on NBC.

Wednesday night’s game between the Capitals and Flyers is the second game of a home-and-home series, following the Flyers 5-4 come-from-behind, overtime victory over the Capitals on Sunday afternoon in the NHL Game of the Week on NBC. The Flyers currently sit two points in front of the Capitals in the Eastern Conference standings, and have won seven of their last 10 games.

Dave Strader will provide the play-by-play for the Capitals-Flyers Wednesday Night Rivalry showdown, alongside analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

NBC’s NHL Game of the Week features the third matchup of the season between the Red Wings and Rangers. In their last meeting, Red Wings goaltender and Team USA member Jimmy Howard stopped 47 of 48 shots, but Rangers goaltender and Team Sweden silver medalist Henrik Lundqvist turned aside all 38 shots he faced in a 1-0 Rangers victory on Jan. 16. Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will call the action alongside Olczyk and McGuire at Madison Square Garden.

Coverage continues on Sunday night on NBCSN when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET. Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom will have the call from First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

Thursday’s NHL coverage on NBCSN features an interconference matchup between two elite teams, as Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins visit Patrick Marleau and the San Jose Sharks at 10:30 p.m. ET. Randy Hahn (play-by-play) and Drew Remenda (analyst) will have the call from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

NBC Sports Group’s NHL coverage begins tonight, when Team Canada forward Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars host the Sabres at 8 p.m. ET. Gord Miller (play-by-play) and Daryl Reaugh (analyst) will provide live commentary from American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Interconference action continues Tuesday in St. Louis, when Team USA goaltender Ryan Miller, recently acquired from the Sabres, and the Blues host the Tampa Bay Lightning at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Rick Peckham (play-by-play) and Engblom (analyst) will have the call from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

NHL Live, NBC Sports Group’s live NHL pre-game and post-game studio show, will precede NBCSN’s weekday NHL coverage. Liam McHugh will host NHL Live alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones on Monday through Wednesday, while Russ Thaler will host alongside analyst and former player Anson Carter prior to Penguins-Sharks on Thursday.

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Mon., March 3 NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
  Buffalo at Dallas NBCSN 8 p.m.
Tue., March 4 NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
  Tampa Bay at St. Louis NBCSN 8 p.m.
  NHL Rivals – Capitals-Flyers NBCSN 11 p.m.
  NHL Top 10 NBCSN 11:30 p.m.
Wed., March 5 NHL Live NBCSN 6:30 p.m.
  NHL Rivals – Capitals-Flyers NBCSN 7 p.m.
  NHL Live NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
  Wednesday Night Rivalry – Washington at Philadelphia NBCSN 8 p.m.
  NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
Thur., March 6 Washington at Philadelphia (Encore) NBCSN 7:30 a.m.
  NHL Live NBCSN 10 p.m.
  Pittsburgh at San Jose NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
Sun., March 9 NHL Game of the Week – Red Wings at Rangers NBC Noon
  Chicago at Buffalo NBCSN 7:30 p.m.

 

PENGUINS-BLACKHAWKS NHL STADIUM SERIES SCORES BEST OVERNIGHT RATING EVER ON NBC FOR NON-WINTER CLASSIC REGULAR-SEASON GAME

NBC’s primetime coverage of Saturday night’s NHL Stadium Series game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks (8-11:15 p.m. ET) from Soldier Field in Chicago registered a 2.1 overnight rating, making it the highest overnight ever on NBC for a non-Winter Classic NHL regular-season game, according to metered market data from The Nielsen Company.

The overnight for the game, in which the hometown Blackhawks handily defeated the Penguins, 5-1, was up 91% compared to last year’s NHL regular-season average on NBC (1.1) and up 31% vs. NBC’s afternoon NHL Stadium Series game on January 26 between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils (1.6; 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET).

 

NHL RIVALS – CAPITALS-FLYERS – TUESDAY, 11 P.M. ET ON NBCSN 

This week’s episode of NHL Rivals, which debuts at 11 p.m. ET following Lightning-Blues on NBCSN, features the rivalry between the Capitals and Flyers that has spanned the past 30-plus years. The episode highlights an animosity fostered by intense playoff series, intimidating presences like former Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall and former Capitals forward Dale Hunter, and an encounter in Philadelphia between the two teams this season that made the Wells Fargo Center look more like the Philadelphia Spectrum.

Sports Illustrated hockey writer Michael Farber on Capitals-Flyers line brawl this season: “If (the Flyers) were going to get beaten badly on the scoreboard, they were going to leave a mark. Ray Emery skated down to the other end of the ice and left his mark on the back of Braden Holtby’s head.”

Doc Emrick on the home-ice advantage of the Philadelphia Spectrum: “The atmosphere inside was carnivorous, and that’s not a bad thing. It helped contribute to what the Flyers were doing.”

Hextall on personal rivalry with Hunter: “He was the one guy, the one player in the league, I asked to fight. Goalies didn’t usually do that, but he was the one guy who I asked to fight…a number of times.”

In addition, NBCSN will present a new episode of NHL Revealed: A Season Like No Other, seven-part docu-series providing an all-access look at the teams and players participating in the NHL Stadium Series, following Capitals-Flyers on Wednesday Night Rivalry.

 

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream this week’s NHL coverage via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Games airing on:

  • NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
  • NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

2013-14 REGULAR-SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 103 NHL regular-season games during the 2013-14 season, featuring 13 games on NBC and 90 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. 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 2013-14 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S DIGITAL AND SOCIAL NHL COVERAGE

NBC Sports Group will continue to provide hockey fans with up-to-the-minute news, video, and information on the NHL and hockey from around the world via its digital and social properties, including NBCSports.com, Twitter and Facebook. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s Digital and Social NHL coverage.

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–