FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 30th, 2018
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS HOST WASHINGTON CAPITALS IN GAME 2 OF 2018 STANLEY CUP FINAL TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Pre-Game Coverage on NBCSN Begins at 6 p.m. ET with Two-Hour Edition of NHL Live
Stanley Cup Final Game 1 Viewership on NBC is Best in Three Years, Up 7% vs. Last Year; Stanley Cup Playoff Viewership Continues to Be Best in 21 Years
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 30, 2018 – Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will look to bounce back with a Game 2 win against Marc-Andre Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, as NBC Sports’ exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final continues from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights defeated the Capitals, 6-4, on Monday night in Vegas in Game 1, a back-and-forth contest that featured the most lead changes ever in a Stanley Cup Final game.
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 2018 Stanley Cup Final games.
Six-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 2018 Stanley Cup Final on NBC and NBCSN. This marks the 12th 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.
Pre-game coverage will begin on NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET with a two-hour edition of NHL Live. Host Liam McHugh will anchor pre-game, intermission and post-game coverage on-site, alongside analysts and former players Mike Milbury and Keith Jones. In addition, Kathryn Tappen and Paul Burmeister will host pre-game and post-game coverage from outside sets in Las Vegas, capturing the scene amongst the fans alongside analysts and former players Jeremy Roenick, Brian Boucher, and Anson Carter.
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STANLEY CUP FINAL GAME 1 VIEWERSHIP ON NBC IS BEST IN THREE YEARS AND UP 7% VS. LAST YEAR
Game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final last night between the Washington Capitals and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 5.279 million viewers on NBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app, making it the most-watched Game 1 in three years, with viewership up 7% vs. last year. The game also set local ratings records in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Overall, the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs remain the most-watched in 21 years. Click here for more information.
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STANLEY CUP FINAL GAME 2 – CAPITALS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS – TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The Golden Knights’ fourth line combined to score three unanswered goals in the third period, including two goals by Tomas Nosek, as Vegas defeated Washington, 6-4, in Game 1 after trailing 4-3 early in the final period.
It marked the highest-scoring Stanley Cup Final game since 2013 and the third time in playoff history – and the first time ever in a Final – that a game featured four lead changes. Vegas is now 7-1 at home in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and has scored first in all eight home games. Capitals’ forward Evgeny Kuznetsov extended his point streak to 11 games with an assist in the loss. Fleury finished with 24 saves and recorded his 75th career postseason win, eighth-most all-time in Stanley Cup Playoff history.
“BY THE NUMBERS”
2 Only one team in NHL history has won the Stanley Cup in less than 20 games. With a sweep in this series, Vegas would become just the second team to accomplish the feat since the first round changed to a best-of-seven series in 1987.
3 The Capitals have won each of their series this postseason despite trailing in all three.
12 Number of talent participating in NBC Sports’ coverage of the Stanley Cup Final, including Tirico, Tappen, McHugh and more. Broadcast team of Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire is calling the Stanley Cup Final for NBC Sports for the 12th consecutive year.
28.1 Game 1 delivered a 28.1 rating in Vegas, the highest rating for a Golden Knights game ever in the market, surpassing this year’s Game 5 of the Western Conference Final (17.9).
52 Total number of camera feeds included in NBC Sports’ coverage of the Stanley Cup Final.
829 Height of SkyJump Las Vegas, where analyst Jeremy Roenick took part in a controlled decelerator descent during NBC Sports’ pre-game coverage ahead of Game 1.
Following is the full telecast schedule for the 2018 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) |
| Wed., May 30 | Game 2 – Washington at Vegas | NBCSN | 8 p.m. |
| Sat., June 2 | Game 3 – Vegas at Washington | NBCSN | 8 p.m. |
| Mon., June 4 | Game 4 – Vegas at Washington | NBC | 8 p.m. |
| Thur., June 7 | Game 5 – Washington at Vegas* | NBC | 8 p.m. |
| Sun., June 10 | Game 6 – Vegas at Washington* | NBC | 8 p.m. |
| Wed., June 13 | Game 7 – Washington at Vegas* | NBC | 8 p.m. |
*if necessary
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WAYNE GRETZKY STARS IN HULU OPENER
Wayne Gretzky – The Great One – starred in a Hulu opening tease that began NBC Sports’ coverage of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
In the 15-second spot, Gretzky – the leading scorer in NHL history and winner of four Stanley Cups – skillfully uses a hockey stick to procure his remote control, allowing him to easily access all the Stanley Cup Final content available on Hulu from the comfort of his home. The spot will be used throughout the Stanley Cup Final.
Prior to the playoffs, Hulu, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the National Hockey League (NHL®) announced a new partnership in which Hulu became an official sponsor of the NHLPA and the NHL for the entirety of the 2018 Stanley Cup® Playoffs and Final.
The partnership features a national marketing campaign for Hulu across all League touchpoints including NBC Sports, the NHL’s digital and social channels, as well as camera-visible, in-stadium inventory within all U.S. venues.
The collaboration also includes integration within all NBC Sports broadcasts with on-air presenting sponsorship of NBC Sports’ NHL Live pre-game show for the Stanley Cup® Playoffs as well as integration within the broadcast opening.
Hulu is a leading premium streaming service that offers instant access to live and on demand channels, original series and films, and a premium library of TV and movies to more than 17 million subscribers in the U.S.
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ABOUT NBC SPORTS RADIO
NBC Sports Radio is a joint venture between NBC Sports Group and Westwood One and will broadcast every Stanley Cup Final game. The joint venture provides sports talk programming to radio stations nationwide and is distributed by Westwood One. Content includes hourly sports news updates, daily features, and long-form shows. On social media, join the NBC Sports Radio community on Twitter at twitter.com/nbcsportsradio. To listen live or on demand, or to find a station, visit www.nbcsportsradio.com.
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 for 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–
