NBC SPORTS GROUP SCHEDULED TO AIR NEARLY 100 NHL REGULAR SEASON GAMES IN 2017-18

Opening Night Features Two-Time Defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins Hosting St. Louis Blues on Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN

First Week of Season on NBCSN Features Detroit Red Wings’ First-Ever Regular-Season Home Game at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 5; Vegas Golden Knights’ First-Ever Home Game on Oct. 10

2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic Features Rangers-Sabres on Jan. 1 on NBC from Citi Field; Toronto Maple Leafs Face Washington Capitals Outdoors at Naval Academy on NBC in Primetime on March 3

NBC and NBCSN Present Coverage of 2018 NHL All-Star Weekend from AMALIE Arena in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 27-28

Auston Matthews’ Maple Leafs & Connor McDavid’s Oilers Each Appear Three Times on NBC/NBCSN; Nashville Makes Seven Appearances

All U.S. NHL Teams Featured on NBC or NBCSN During 2017-18 Regular Season

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 31, 2017 – Coming off of the most-watched Stanley Cup Final without an Original Six team on record, NBC Sports Group is scheduled to present 99 NHL regular-season games during the 2017-18 season, beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins host the St. Louis Blues. All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app to authenticated users via TV Everywhere.

“We’re proud to offer our most diverse NHL schedule ever to fans across the country,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer & President of Production, NBC Sports. “From classic rivalries and historic franchises, to young stars such as Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, a hockey-crazed market in Nashville, and a new franchise in Vegas, this schedule represents our commitment to present the NHL’s diverse and emerging stars, teams, and stories.”

Schedule highlights include:

• NBCSN will televise seven games through the first week of the season, highlighted by the season-opener between the St. Louis Blues and two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins; the Detroit Red Wings’ first-ever regular-season home game at Little Caesars Arena vs. the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 5; the Vegas Golden Knights’ first-ever home game vs. the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 10; and a Wednesday Night Rivalry clash between the Penguins and Washington Capitals on Oct. 11.

• NBC will present the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres from Citi Field in New York City, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, on Jan. 1, 2018, at 1 p.m. ET.

• NBC will air exclusive coverage of the 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series in primetime on March 3, 2018, at 8 p.m. ET, when the Toronto Maple Leafs face the Capitals at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., home of the U.S. Naval Academy.

• NBC will present coverage of the NHL All-Star Game from AMALIE Arena in Tampa, Fla., home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. NHL All-Star Weekend will take place Saturday, Jan. 27 and Sunday, Jan. 28, and will include the NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ and the NHL All-Star Game.

• The 2017-18 regular season on NBCSN will feature 23 Wednesday Night Rivalry telecasts, plus five Wednesday Nightcaps and five Sunday Night Hockey exclusive games. WNR will feature the biggest rivalries in the NHL, including Penguins-Capitals, Blues-Blackhawks, and Canadiens-Bruins.

• Auston Matthews’ Toronto Maple Leafs and Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers will each make three appearances on NBC or NBCSN. In addition to its Stadium Series game on NBC, Toronto will face off against the Blackhawks on Wednesday Night Rivalry on Jan. 24, and visit Buffalo on March 5, both on NBCSN. The Oilers will visit St. Louis on Nov. 21, host Los Angeles on Jan. 2, and visit the defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators on Jan. 9, all on NBCSN.

• The defending Western Conference champion Nashville Predators will make seven appearances this season on NBCSN, including a pair of home matchups against the Blackhawks on Nov. 28 and Jan. 30.

• The Blackhawks lead all clubs with 17 total appearances on NBC and NBCSN, followed by the Penguins and Flyers with 16, and the Capitals, Red Wings, and Bruins with 15 appearances apiece, respectively. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights will be featured on NBCSN five times this season. *Note: some games are subject to local blackouts*

• At least 53 of NBC and NBCSN’s 99 telecasts will feature at least one Western Conference team, and every U.S. team will appear on NBC or NBCSN in the regular season.

NHL ON NBCSN

NBCSN will televise 90 NHL regular-season games this season, including the Opening Night doubleheader, 23 Wednesday Night Rivalry games, five Wednesday Nightcaps, five Sunday Night Hockey contests, and NHL All-Star coverage.

NBCSN coverage begins on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live leading into coverage of Blues-Penguins from Pittsburgh. Coverage shifts to San Jose immediately following Blues-Penguins for the Wednesday Nightcap, featuring the Flyers and Sharks.

NHL ON NBC

NHL on NBC coverage begins on Friday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. ET, with the 2017 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins, marking the first of nine games that will air on NBC during the regular season. Beginning on Jan. 14, and continuing through the end of the regular season, NBC will present the NHL Game of the Week, generally occurring on Sunday afternoons. Following is the 2017-18 NHL on NBC regular season schedule:

#2017 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown; *2018 NHL Winter Classic; ^2018 NHL Stadium Series

NHL WINTER CLASSIC, NHL STADIUM SERIES AND NHL100 CLASSIC

On Jan. 1, the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will feature the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers on NBC at 1 p.m. ET at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. This year’s edition will mark the 10-year anniversary of the first NHL Winter Classic®, which has produced five of the most-watched NHL regular-season games on record.

NBC will present exclusive coverage of the 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series and the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic. The NHL Stadium Series will feature the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals on March 3 in primetime on NBC at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, located at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. NBCSN will televise the outdoor NHL100 Classic on Dec. 16, featuring the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens from Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, commemorating the first-ever NHL game, which featured the Senators and Canadiens nearly 100 years ago.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY

NBCSN’s exclusive Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage will return for a fifth season and will feature some of the biggest rivalries in the NHL, including Penguins-Capitals, Blues-Blackhawks, and Canadiens-Bruins. The network will air exclusive coverage on Wednesday nights for 23 weeks, with games usually starting at 8 p.m. ET. NBCSN’s 10 most-watched games in 2016-17 were either Wednesday Night Rivalry or Sunday Night Hockey games.

NBCSN 2017-18 NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry schedule (subject to change):

*Opening night

WEDNESDAY NIGHTCAP

In addition, NBCSN will present five games on Wednesday nights that will immediately follow Wednesday Night Rivalry matchups. These nightcaps will showcase one or two Western Conference teams. The first of these games will take place on Opening Night, when Philadelphia visits San Jose following Blues-Penguins. Following are the five Wednesday Nightcap games:

SUNDAY NIGHT HOCKEY ON NBCSN

Beginning on March 4, NBCSN will present five Sunday Night Hockey matchups. These exclusive telecasts include Red Wings-Wild, Blues-Blackhawks, and Capitals-Penguins. Following is NBCSN’s Sunday Night Hockey schedule:

NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND – JAN. 27-28 – AMALIE ARENA IN TAMPA, FLA.

NBC and NBCSN will present extensive coverage of the 2018 NHL All-Star Weekend from AMALIE Arena in Tampa, Fla., the home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. NHL All-Star will take place January 27-28, 2018, and will include the NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ on Saturday, Jan. 27, on NBCSN, and the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 28, on NBC. Last year’s NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Calif., fueled by the second consecutive season featuring the 3-on-3 tournament style format, returned to NBC to mark the first time the game was played on network television since 2004.

NHL LIVE AND NHL OVERTIME

NHL Live and NHL Overtime, NBCSN’s live pre- and post-game show with highlights and analysis of NHL matchups, will air before and after most games. A 60-minute edition of NHL Live will air prior to most games, while NHL Overtime will air immediately following most games.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP

The NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream coverage 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. The NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Comcast’s X1, Roku, Win10, and Xbox.

NBC Sports Group 2017-18 NHL regular-season schedule (subject to change):

*Some games will be blacked out in local markets and televised in those markets by a regional carrier.

--NBC SPORTS GROUP--