FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 6th, 2017
NBC SPORTS PRESENTS “BEST OF THE WEST” – CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS HOST MINNESOTA WILD IN “NHL GAME OF THE WEEK” SUNDAY AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
Red Wings Host Rangers Sunday Night at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Wednesday Night Rivalry – Red Wings-Bruins – Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN
This Week’s Coverage on NBCSN Begins Tonight with Stars-Capitals at 7 p.m. ET; Sabres Host Flyers Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 6, 2017 – NBC Sports presents the NHL’s “Best of the West” in its NHL Game of the Week showdown on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, when Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks host Ryan Suter and the Minnesota Wild. Coverage begins at noon ET on NBC with NHL Live.
Sunday’s NHL coverage shifts to NBCSN at 7 p.m. ET, when Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers visit Henrik Zetterberg and the Detroit Red Wings in an Original Six matchup. The Red Wings will also be featured in an Original Six clash on Wednesday Night Rivalry, when they visit Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
NBCSN’s coverage this week begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Alex Ovechkin and the league-leading Washington Capitals host Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars. The action continues tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET, when Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres host Wayne Simmonds and the Philadelphia Flyers.
NHL Live pre-game coverage begins one hour prior to games on NBCSN.
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 this week’s NHL matchups.
Four-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call this week’s Wild-Blackhawks NHL Game of the Week from United Center in Chicago, Ill.
Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Olczyk, and McGuire will call the Red Wings-Bruins Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup from TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Gord Miller (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will provide commentary of Rangers-Red Wings from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.
Joe Beninati (play-by-play) and Craig Laughlin (analyst) will call Stars-Capitals from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., and Jim Jackson (play-by-play) and Keith Jones (analyst) will call Flyers-Sabres from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen will anchor studio coverage throughout the week, joined by analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick, and Brian Boucher. Post-game coverage on NHL Overtime will air on NBCSN immediately following this week’s games.
NHL GAME OF THE WEEK – WILD-BLACKHAWKS – SUNDAY AT NOON ET ON NBC
Minnesota and Chicago boast the two best records in the Western Conference heading into this week’s action. Central Division-leading Minnesota is tops in the conference with 90 points, one ahead of Chicago (89).
The Wild have won three of their past four games, including a 3-1 victory over Pacific Division-leading San Jose on Sunday. Chicago is one of the league’s hottest teams, having won seven consecutive games, including a 5-3 win at Minnesota on Feb. 21. Wild G Devan Dubnyk leads the NHL with a .933 save percentage and 35 wins. Blackhawks’ RW Patrick Kane ranks second in the league with 70 points (29 goals, 41 assists).
This is the final of four meetings between the two teams this season. The Blackhawks have won the last two against the Wild, both in Minnesota, to snap an eight-game losing streak against their division rival.
RANGERS-RED WINGS – SUNDAY AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The Rangers (84 points) are safely entrenched as the top Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, and are just four points behind Columbus and Pittsburgh, who are tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division. New York recently acquired defenseman Brendan Smith from the Red Wings at the NHL trade deadline. Detroit (61 points) is in last place in the Eastern Conference, but has earned seven points in their past six games (3-2-1). This marks the rubber match of the three-game season series between New York and Detroit.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY – RED WINGS-BRUINS – WEDNESDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Boston (74 points) has been one of the hottest teams in the league since Bruce Cassidy took over as interim head coach, winning four of their past five games. The Bruins ranks third in the Atlantic Division, just two points behind second-place Ottawa (76). Boston has won two of three games this season against Detroit, and all three games have been decided by one goal. Bruins LW Brad Marchand is tied for fourth in the NHL with 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists).
STARS-CAPITALS – TONIGHT AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Washington has won five of its past six games, leads the NHL with 95 points, and is in search of its second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy. Dallas (62 points) is seven points out of the Western Conference Wild Card, but has won four of its past six games.
Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom (20 goals, 45 assists) and Stars C Tyler Seguin (22 goals, 43 assists) are tied for eighth in the league with 65 points. Washington beat Dallas 4-3 in overtime in their only previous meeting this season, as the Caps erased a 3-1 third-period deficit on Jan. 21.
FLYERS-SABRES – TOMORROW AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Both the Flyers (68 points) and Sabres (66 points) are trying to stay in the Eastern Conference Wild Card picture. Philadelphia has registered five points in its past three games (2-0-1), while Buffalo is trying to right itself after having lost six of its last seven. This is the third and final matchup of the season between the Flyers and Sabres, with each team winning once at home.
Following is this week’s hockey coverage on NBC and NBCSN:
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Mon., March 6 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Dallas at Washington** | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| Tues., March 7 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Philadelphia at Buffalo** | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| Wed., March 1 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday Night Rivalry – Detroit at Boston | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | |
| Sun., March 5 | NHL Live | NBC | 12 p.m. |
| NHL Game of the Week – Minnesota at Chicago | NBC | 12:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Live | NBCSN | 6 p.m. | |
| N.Y. Rangers at Detroit | NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 9:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Sunday Shootout – The Week in Review | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. |
*immediately following game coverage
**subject to local blackout
NHL 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 2016-17 NHL regular season 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.
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2016-17 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN
NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 106 NHL regular-season games during the 2016-17 season, featuring 14 games on NBC and 92 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. 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 2016-17 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.
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