FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 9th, 2015
RICK NASH AND NEW YORK RANGERS VISIT ALEX OVECHKIN AND WASHINGTON CAPITALS ON NBCSN’S “WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY” AT 8 P.M. ET
Seven of Top Eight Teams in NHL’s Eastern Conference on NBC and NBCSN This Week
John Tavares and New York Islanders Host P.K. Subban and Montreal Canadiens Saturday Night at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Pavel Datsyuk and Detroit Red Wings Visit Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh Penguins on NHL Game of the Week Sunday at Noon ET on NBC
Coverage Begins Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Logan Couture and San Jose Sharks Host Penguins; Avalanche Host Kings Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 9, 2015 – This week’s NHL coverage on NBC and NBCSN features seven of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference, highlighted by a Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup between Rick Nash and the New York Rangers, and Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. In addition, current division leaders will face off on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when John Tavares and the New York Islanders host P.K. Subban and the Montreal Canadiens.
Sunday’s coverage features a pair of Eastern Conference matchups, beginning at noon ET on NBC, when Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins host Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL Game of the Week. Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Milan Lucic and the Boston Bruins will visit the Capitals, wrapping up more than 25 hours of NHL coverage this week.
Action kicks off tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Crosby and the Penguins travel to San Jose to face Logan Couture and the Sharks, followed by a Tuesday night matchup at 9 p.m. ET between Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings, and Gabriel Landeskog and the Colorado Avalanche.
NHL Live, NBCSN’s pre- and post-game NHL studio show, begins one hour prior to puck drop tonight through Wednesday, and a half hour before NBCSN’s weekend matchups. Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen will host this week’s coverage alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick. NHL insider Darren Dreger will join NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage to provide the latest in-depth news from around the league.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY – RANGERS-CAPITALS – WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The Rangers visit the Capitals on Wednesday Night Rivalry this week in a preview of a potential first-round playoff matchup. The Rangers (40-17-7, 87 pts) enter the week as one of the hottest teams in the league, with just one regulation loss in the past month (10-1-3). Last night, Derick Brassard scored 32 seconds into overtime to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on NBCSN. Rick Nash ranks second in the NHL with 38 goals, trailing only Washington’s Alex Ovechkin (44). In addition, Ovechkin and teammate Nicklas Backstrom are tied for second in the league with 69 points. The Capitals (36-21-10, 82 pts) currently hold the first Wild Card spot, and are coming off a 6-1 win over Buffalo on Saturday night.
Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator and Sports Illustrated 2014 Media Person of the Year Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk and Inside-the-Glass analyst Joe Micheletti will call have the call from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
CANADIENS-ISLANDERS – SATURDAY NIGHT AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN will present a matchup of division leaders when the New York Islanders host the Montreal Canadiens. The Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders (42-21-4, 88 pts) are led by captain John Tavares, who has recorded 19 points in his last 12 games (8g/11a) to take over the NHL scoring lead with 70 points. The Canadiens (42-18-6, 90 pts) lead the Eastern Conference, and have defeated the Islanders by scores of 3-1 and 6-4 in their two previous matchups this season.
In addition, Saturday night’s game features two of the top goaltenders in the NHL this season. Montreal’s Carey Price leads the league in wins (37), goals against average (1.89), and save percentage (.936), while the Islanders’ Jaroslav Halak set a single-season franchise record for wins (34), eclipsing the record of 32 victories with a 2-1 win over Calgary on Feb. 27. The Isles are 23-9-0 at home this year, their final season on Long Island prior to moving to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the 2015-16 season.
Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will have the call from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.
NHL GAME OF THE WEEK – RED WINGS-PENGUINS – SUNDAY AT NOON ET ON NBC
The Red Wings and Penguins clash on NBC in the NHL Game of the Week Sunday at noon ET. Detroit (36-17-11, 83 pts) is third in the Atlantic Division, seven points clear of the Boston Bruins, but fell to Boston 5-3 on Sunday afternoon on NBC. Pittsburgh (38-18-9, 85 pts) is third in a close Metropolitan Division, where the top four teams are separated by just six points. Pittsburgh has won six of its last seven games, including a 1-0 overtime victory in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will have the call from CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
BRUINS-CAPITALS – SUNDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Washington hosts Boston on Sunday night on NBCSN, as the Bruins look to strengthen their playoff positioning. Boston (33-22-10, 76 pts) holds the second and final Wild Card spot in the East and has earned points in eight of its last 10 games (5-2-3), led by Patrice Bergeron, who has recorded at least one point in 11 of his last 15 games. The matchup marks the second meeting of the season between the two teams, following a 4-0 Washington win on Oct. 11.
Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call the action from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
PENGUINS-SHARKS – TONIGHT AT 10 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
San Jose hosts Pittsburgh tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as the Sharks look to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Sharks (32-26-8, 72 pts) are five points behind Calgary for the final spot in the Pacific Division, and also trail the Kings by three points. This past week, San Jose shut out Montreal by a score of 4-0 at home, and split a home-and-home series with Vancouver. Tonight’s matchup will be the first meeting of the season between the Penguins and Sharks.
Randy Hahn (play-by-play) and Jamie Baker (analyst) will have the call from the SAP Center at San Jose in San Jose, Calif.
KINGS-AVALANCHE – TOMORROW NIGHT AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Los Angeles looks to continue its playoff push tomorrow night with a win in Colorado against the Avalanche. The Kings (31-21-13, 75 pts) are two points behind Calgary, and trail Winnipeg by three points for the final spots in the Western Conference. The Kings have earned a point in three straight games, and beat Colorado 4-1 on Feb. 18 in Denver. The Avalanche (30-25-11, 71 pts) have won three straight games to keep their playoff hopes alive, including wins over Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call the action from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.
Following is this week’s NHL telecast schedule on NBC and NBCSN. Games are subject to local blackout.
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Mon., March 9 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 9 p.m. |
| Pittsburgh at San Jose | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| Tues., March 10 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 8 p.m. |
| Los Angeles at Colorado | NBCSN | 9 p.m. | |
| Wed., March 11 | NHL Rivals – Rangers-Capitals (Encore) | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| NHL Live | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| Wednesday Night Rivalry – N.Y. Rangers at Washington | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | |
| Sat., March 14 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Montreal at N.Y. Islanders | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| Sun., March 15 | NHL Game of the Week – Detroit at Pittsburgh | NBC | Noon |
| NHL Live | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| Boston at Washington | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. |
2014-15 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN
NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 103 NHL regular-season games during the 2014-15 season, featuring 14 games on NBC and 89 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 2014-15 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.
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 NBC Sports Live Extra 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 at the App Store for iPad and iPod touch, and on select tablet devices within Google Play.
-NBC SPORTS GROUP-
