FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 19th, 2020

FIVE STANLEY CUP FIRST ROUND GAME 5 MATCHUPS, INCLUDING FOUR CLINCHING GAMES, PRESENTED ALL DAY ON NBCSN, BEGINNING AT 12 P.M. ET

(1) Flyers Look to Advance to Second Round Against (8) Canadiens in Primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN

 (4) Bruins Try to Eliminate (5) Hurricanes in Game 5 at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN

(2) Lightning Can Clinch Series vs. (7) Blue Jackets in Game 5 at 12 p.m. ET on NBCSN to Drop Puck on Today’s Coverage

(4) Blues Face (5) Canucks with Series Tied at 2 at 10:30 p.m. ET; (2) Avalanche Look to Clinch Series Against (7) Coyotes in Game 5 at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Hockey Culture Interview with Minnesota Wild’s J.T. Brown Available Now

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 19, 2020 – NBC Sports presents five Stanley Cup First Round Game 5 matchups today on NBCSN, including four clinching games, totaling more than 13 hours of coverage throughout the day. The (1) Philadelphia Flyers, who hold a commanding 3-1 series lead, look to advance to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the (8) Montreal Canadiens in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Yesterday, Carter Hart registered 29 saves in goal for his second consecutive shutout to lead the Flyers to a 2-0 victory in Game 4.

The (4) Boston Bruins have forced the (5) Carolina Hurricanes to the brink of elimination in today’s Game 5 matchup at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN, following their 4-3 comeback victory in Game 4 on Monday. Jake DeBrusk netted two goals in the Bruins’ comeback effort.

Puck drop on today’s coverage begins with an elimination Game 5 between the (2) Tampa Bay Lightning, who hold a 3-1 series lead, and the (7) Columbus Blue Jackets at 12 p.m. ET on NBCSN. In Game 4, Andrei Vasilevskiy registered 28 saves in net to help Tampa Bay to a 2-1 victory. A 1.5-hour edition of NHL Live will immediately follow the Tampa Bay-Columbus game at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

The (2) Colorado Avalanche look to clinch the series and eliminate the (7) Arizona Coyotes in Game 5 at 5:30 p.m. ET, a matchup that will be joined-in-progress at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Five different members of the Avalanche scored in Game 4 to help defeat the Coyotes 7-1, pushing Arizona to the brink of elimination.

Coverage continues in the hub city of Edmonton at 10:30 p.m. ET, when the (4) St. Louis Blues face the (5) Vancouver Canucks in a pivotal Game 5, with the series tied at two games apiece. Ryan O’Reilly recorded two goals and an assist for St. Louis in the 3-1 Game 4 win, the Blues’ second straight victory.

Kathryn Tappen and Ahmed Fareed will host today and tonight’s studio coverage alongside studio analysts Keith Jones, Anson Carter and Patrick Sharp.

Yesterday, Hockey Culture debuted an interview with Minnesota Wild forward J.T. Brown as part of the initiative, led by Anson Carter, dedicated to bringing equality and inclusion to the sport of hockey. Highlighted topics that Carter and Brown discuss are the sport’s reaction to Brown’s demonstration during the national anthem three years as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and how Brown is working with Wild teammate Matt Dumba on the “Rebuild Minnesota” project.

Hockey Culture launched last week and premiered interviews with Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves and Arizona Coyotes President & CEO Xavier Gutierrez.

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.

Viewership for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues to be strong. Here are a few highlights:

  • Through the first week of coverage across NBC Sports (27 games; 7 days), the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs – including numerous weekday afternoon games — are averaging a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 633,000 viewers, up +4% from last season (610,000).
  • Cable games are averaging a TAD of 545,000 viewers to rank as the best cable delivery through this point in the playoffs in three years (2017; 548,000). This also stands as NBC Sports’ third most-watched cable coverage of the playoffs through the first week behind 2017 and 2012 (553,000 TV-only).
  • Cable games in the traditional primetime and late-night windows (excluding afternoon games) are averaging a TAD of 573,000 viewers, which is NBC Sports’ best start to the playoffs on cable on record when compared to games in the same time periods.

Today’s NHL schedule on NBCSN is below:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET) Commentators
Wed., Aug. 19 Game 5 – (7) Columbus vs. (2) Tampa Bay NBCSN 12 p.m. Gord Miller, AJ Mleczko
  Game 5 – (5) Carolina vs. (4) Boston NBCSN 4 p.m. John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher
  Game 5 – (7) Arizona vs. (2) Colorado* NBCSN 6:30 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
  Game 5 – (8) Montreal vs. (1) Philadelphia NBCSN 8 p.m. John Forslund, Brian Boucher
  Game 5 – (5) Vancouver vs. (4) St. Louis NBCSN 10:30 p.m. Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire

*NHL Network will air the game in its entirety

—NBC SPORTS—