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Friday, August 14th, 2020

FIVE STANLEY CUP FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS PRESENTED TODAY ON NBCSN, BEGINNING AT 2 P.M. ET

Afternoon Game 2 Doubleheader on NBCSN – (7) Coyotes vs. (2) Avalanche at 2 p.m. ET, Followed by (8) Canadiens vs. (1) Flyers at 3 p.m. ET

 (6) Islanders-(3) Capitals Game 2 in Primetime at 8 p.m. ET; (3) Stars vs. (6) Flames in Game 3 Nightcap at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Nine Games This Weekend Highlighted by Two in Primetime on NBC

First Day of 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs is NBC Sports’ Most-Watched First Day On Record

Hockey Culture – NBC Sports’ Initiative Dedicated to Equality and Diversity in Hockey Led by Anson Carter – Launched This Week

STAMFORD, Conn. August 14, 2020 – NBC Sports presents five Stanley Cup First Round matchups today on NBCSN, beginning with the (2) Colorado Avalanche looking to take a 2-0 series advantage against the (7) Arizona Coyotes in Game 2 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Nathan MacKinnon registered two assists in Avs’ 3-0 win in Game 1.

Coverage shifts to the hub city of Toronto at 3 p.m. ET, when the (8) Montreal Canadiens look to even their series against the (1) Philadelphia Flyers, following Philadelphia’s 2-1 win in Game 1. Carter Hart recorded 27 saves in goal for the Flyers in the win. An hour-long edition of NHL Live will immediately follow game coverage at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Game 2 between the (5) Vancouver Canucks and (4) St. Louis Blues will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. In the opening game of the series, Bo Horvat scored two goals to help the Canucks win 5-2 on Wednesday.

Tonight’s primetime matchup features the (6) New York Islanders against the (3) Washington Capitals in Game 2 on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET, following the Islanders 4-2 comeback victory in Game 1. The nightcap features the (3) Dallas Stars versus the (6) Calgary Flames at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The series is tied at one-game apiece, following a 5-4 Dallas win last night bolstered by a pair of goals from Miro Heiskanen.

Kathryn Tappen will host today and tonight’s studio coverage alongside studio analysts Eddie Olczyk, Keith Jones, Anson Carter, Patrick Sharp and AJ Mleczko.

All games airing on NBCSN will air side-by-side in local markets alongside regional sports network game telecasts (except in Las Vegas, which will be blacked out in the First Round). Every First Round game will stream in its entirety on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Games not aired in their entirety on NBCSN will also air on NHL Network.

This weekend, NBC Sports will present nine games across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network and digital platforms, including two primetime games on NBC.

Earlier this week, NBC Sports launched Hockey Culture, a multi-platform content offering dedicated to bringing equality and inclusion to the sport of hockey. Led by Anson Carter, Hockey Culture will address contemporary topics within the sport, aim to promote diversity around the game and on the ice, and increase community engagement with hockey.

The upcoming NHL schedule today and this weekend across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network and digital platforms is below:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET) Commentators
Fri., Aug. 14 Game 2 – (7) Arizona vs. (2) Colorado* NBCSN 2 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
  Game 2 – (8) Montreal vs. (1) Philadelphia NBCSN 3 p.m. John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher
  Game 2 – (5) Vancouver vs. (4) St. Louis* NBCSN 6:30 p.m. Kenny Albert, AJ Mleczko, Pierre McGuire
  Game 2 – (6) N.Y. Islanders vs. (3) Washington NBCSN 8 p.m. Gord Miller, Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher
  Game 3 – (3) Dallas vs. (6) Calgary NBCSN 10:30 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
Sat., Aug. 15 Game 3 – (4) Boston vs. (5) Carolina NBC 12 p.m. John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher
  Game 3 – (2) Colorado vs. (7) Arizona CNBC 3 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
  Game 3 – (2) Tampa Bay vs. (7) Columbus NBCSN 7:30 p.m. Gord Miller, Brian Boucher
  Game 3 – (1) Vegas vs. (8) Chicago NBC 8 p.m. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
Sun., Aug. 16 Game 3 – (3) Washington vs. (6) N.Y. Islanders USA Network 12 p.m. Gord Miller, Brian Boucher
  Game 4 – (3) Dallas vs. (6) Calgary CNBC 2 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
  Game 4 – (1) Vegas vs. (8) Chicago NBCSN 6:30 p.m. Kenny Albert, AJ Mleczko, Pierre McGuire
  Game 3 – (1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Montreal NBC 8 p.m. John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher
  Game 3 – (4) St. Louis vs. (5) Vancouver NBCSN 10:30 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire

*Game will air in its entirety on NHL Network

FIRST DAY OF 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS IS NBC SPORTS’ MOST-WATCHED FIRST DAY ON RECORD

On the strength of Tuesday’s Columbus-Tampa Bay five-overtime thriller, the first day of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs is NBC Sports’ most-watched first day of the playoffs on record, according to Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Yesterday’s NBCSN coverage of two First Round Game 1s averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 689,000 viewers, surpassing all other Stanley Cup Playoff first days on record and up 33% vs. last year’s coverage of four games across NBCSN/USA Network (519,000 viewers). This is the first time the Stanley Cup Playoffs have started in August. Click here for full details.

  • The 5OT Columbus-Tampa Bay game, which began at 3 p.m. ET and concluded roughly 6.5 hours later, averaged a TAD of 755,000 viewers, making it NBC Sports’ third-most watched first-day game on record.
  • For the overtime portion of the game from 5:45-9:25 p.m. ET, Columbus-Tampa Bay averaged 957,000 viewers and later peaked at 1.847 million viewers for its conclusion (9:15-9:25 p.m. ET).
  • During the primetime portion of the game (7:30-9:25 p.m. ET), Columbus-Tampa Bay averaged 1.265 million TV-only viewers. By comparison, last year’s comparable Pittsburgh-New York Islanders First Round Game 1 — which went to overtime — averaged a TAD of 758,000 viewers from 7:29-10:48 p.m. ET.
  • NBCSN ranked as the most-watched cable sports network during the game in total viewers and the key P18-49 and P25-54 demographics.

In addition, with a Total Audience Delivery of 620,000 viewers through Wednesday, the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs are NBC Sports’ best two-day start to the playoffs on record. Compared to last year’s 551,000 viewers, which was the previous best, 2020 coverage is up +13%.

NBC SPORTS