FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING LOOK TO ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP FINAL TONIGHT AGAINST NEW YORK ISLANDERS AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Eastern Conference Final Game 5 Tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Lightning Lead Series 3-1

Dallas Stars Advance to First Stanley Cup Final in 20 Years

Sticks & Stones Curling Competition Featuring Stars’ Joe Pavelski and Lightning’s Alex Killorn Presented Tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Hockey Culture Interview with St. Louis Blues’ Ryan O’Reilly Available Now

STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 15, 2020 – The Tampa Bay Lightning look to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2015 with a win against the New York Islanders in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Pre-game coverage begins with NHL Live at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

The Lightning moved within one win of the Stanley Cup Final when Tampa Bay scored four unanswered goals, including two in a 12-second span, in a 4-1 victory over the Islanders in Game 4 on Sunday on NBC.

Tampa Bay has appeared in two Stanley Cup Finals during the franchise’s history (2004 and 2015). Their sole Stanley Cup victory in 2004 was a seven-game thriller against the Calgary Flames.

Eight-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will handle play-by-play duties alongside U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Brian Boucher (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst).

Liam McHugh will host tonight’s studio coverage alongside studio analysts Keith Jones and Anson Carter.

Last night, the Dallas Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years on an overtime winning-goal from rookie Denis Gurianov to beat Vegas 3-2.

Sticks & Stones, a special that features stars of the NHL, U.S. women’s national hockey team and USA Curling taking part in a round-robin curling competition, will be presented tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Participating in the event are Stars forward Joe Pavelski, Lightning forward Alex Killorn, NHL on NBC analyst AJ Mleczko, 2018 Winter Olympics women’s hockey gold medalist Kendall Coyne Schofield and 2018 U.S. Olympic curling gold medalist John Shuster, among others. A trailer for tonight’s one-hour program can be viewed here.

Earlier today, Hockey Culture debuted an interview with St. Louis Blues forward Ryan O’Reilly as part of the initiative, led by Anson Carter, dedicated to bringing equality and inclusion to the sport of hockey. O’Reilly and Carter discussed his childhood growing up with foster siblings and how those experiences have a played a role in his hockey career as well as his thoughts on how to increase inclusiveness within the sport. Highlighted quotes from the conversation are below:

O’Reilly on growing up with foster siblings: “Learning how to live with them and get along, it’s something that has carried over to everything and I really hope I can give my kids the same experience because you learn so much from it. Especially in hockey, playing on a team with guys that have different backgrounds, but be able to relate and develop a friendship is so important.”

O’Reilly on how his childhood experiences have played a role in his hockey career: “It’s helped me so much in being to help include everyone. Seeing when someone is having a hard time with something, being able to notice it, and bring them in closer to be a part of this family and team.”

O’Reilly on inclusiveness in hockey: “There’s so much room for improvement, especially early in the game…in my household and growing up with my parents, the lesson was that you’re responsible for each other’s well-being. That’s got to be the golden rule…it’s more than just a game, and we need to…help people be better people and be responsible for each other.” 

Hockey Culture also features, among others, the following interviews:

Following is tonight’s Eastern Conference Final schedule:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET) Commentators
Tues., Sept. 15 NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m. Liam McHugh, Keith Jones, Anson Carter
  Game 5 – (6) N.Y. Islanders vs. (2) Tampa Bay NBCSN 8 p.m. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher

PATRICK SHARP AND ANSON CARTER DISCUSS DALLAS STARS ADVANCING TO STANLEY CUP FINAL FOR FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS

Last night, studio analysts Patrick Sharp and Anson Carter discussed the Dallas Stars advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years:

Sharp: “There’s just something special about this Dallas Stars team. Time and time again, they come back and win games that they get outplayed in, they play for each other, having fun inside that bubble…every reason you have to doubt the Dallas Stars, they answer the bell right away.”

Carter: “That celebration told me everything. There’s a game-winning goal scored at the other end, and half the team piles off the bench to celebrate with your netminder. That tells me that those guys love playing for Anton Khudobin.”

NBC SPORTS RADIO STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BROADCAST SCHEDULE

In conjunction with Westwood One, NBC Sports Radio will broadcast every remaining game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Final. The following is tonight’s NBC Sports Radio and Westwood One’s Conference Finals broadcast schedule:

Date Coverage Time (ET) Commentators
Tues., Sept. 15 Game 5 – N.Y. Islanders vs. Tampa Bay 7:45 p.m. Sam Rosen, Joe Micheletti

 

–NBC SPORTS–