NBC Sports Network will be busy over the next week. A total of 11 college or pro hockey games will be aired on NBC Sports Network starting with tomorrow night’s Pittsburgh Penguins-New York Rangers game which marks the second return this season of Sidney Crosby to the ice. It kicks off a busy week for NBC Sports Network which will carry the Hockey East Semifinals on Friday and the Championship on Saturday.
In addition, eight NHL games will be carried in that span of seven days. This includes Monday and Tuesday night NHL doubleheaders as the playoff push is in high gear in the National Hockey League. And NBC also gets in the act with one game in its usual Sunday 12:30 p.m. ET timeslot.
Let’s take a look at NBC Sports Network’s schedule between Thursday and next Wednesday.
SIDNEY CROSBY RETURNS THURSDAY NIGHT ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK
Penguins captain takes ice for first time since December against Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden
Penguins also featured on NBC’s NHL Game of the Week on Sunday at in-state rival Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m. ET
“Crosby is fresh, fit and determined to prove his doubters wrong.” – Pierre McGuire
Bonus coverage of Penguins-Rangers continues NBC Sports Network’s run of live NHL or college hockey for 11 straight nights
Hockey East Tournament culminates with Semifinals and Finals this weekend on NBC Sports Network featuring No. 1 Boston CollegeNEW YORK – (March 14, 2012) – Sidney Crosby returns to the ice for the first time since Dec. 5, 2011 as his Pittsburgh Penguins, second in points in the Eastern Conference (89), travel to New York to take on the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers (95) at Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. ET on newly added coverage on the NBC Sports Network.
Beginning Thursday, the NBC Sports Group will present 12 live NHL or college hockey games over the next seven days. Crosby’s Penguins will be featured twice across the platforms of the NBC Sports Group, including Sunday’s NHL Game of the Week on NBC at their in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers; the Rangers will appear three times, all at home; and the San Jose Sharks, fighting to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, will also appear three times. The bonus Thursday night game also means that the NBC Sports Group will air 11 straight nights of live hockey action dating from Sun., March 11 through Wed., March 21. Thursday night’s Penguins game on the NBC Sports Network is a non-exclusive telecast and will be subject to local blackouts.
The team of Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside the Glass’ analyst) will call the action for Sunday’s game on NBC, and NBC Sports Network’s Wednesday night game. Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (‘Inside the Glass’ analyst) will call Sunday night’s game. Emrick and McGuire will call Monday’s primetime coverage, with Strader and Engblom teaming up again for Tuesday’s game. Liam McHugh and analyst Mike Milbury will cover all the intermissions for NBC’s coverage. Additionally, McHugh hosts NHL Live, NBC Sports Network’s pre- and post-game studio show, and is joined by expert analysts Milbury and Keith Jones. John Walton (play-by-play) and Ken Hodge (analyst) handle college hockey for NBC Sports Network on Friday and Milbury will join them on Sat. to call the Hockey East Finals.
NBCSPORTS.COM: NBCSports.com continues to be the online destination for hockey fans. The website streams each NHL Game of the Week, allowing users to follow all the action and providing them with special features like “Star-Cam,” which follows marquee players throughout the game. NHL content areas on the site include ProHockeyTalk, one of NBCSports.com’s popular “Sports Talk” sites that provide fans with day-to-day coverage of the league with sharp analysis on every angle for all the big stories of the day. NBCSports.com also has exclusive NHL videos wrapping-up all the NHL action that day.
FRIDAY NIGHT ICE: NBC Sports Network’s college hockey coverage culminates this weekend with the Semifinals and Finals of the Hockey East Tournament on Friday and Saturday, respectively, live from TD Garden in Boston, Mass. Coverage begins on Friday with a double-header when No. 1 Boston College takes on Providence at 5 p.m. ET, immediately followed by No. 10 Maine against No. 5 Boston University at 8 p.m. ET. The NBC Sports Network will then air the Hockey East Finals in primetime on Sat. at 8 p.m. ET.
NBC Sports Group hockey schedule (all times ET, subject to change):
Thursday, March 15 — Pittsburgh at New York Rangers, 7:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Friday, March 16 — #1 Boston College vs. Providence, 5:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Friday, March 16 — #10 Maine vs. #5 Boston University, 8:00 p.m. (NBCSN)Saturday, March 17 — Hockey East Finals (TBD), 8:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Saturday, March 17 — Detroit at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. (NBCSN)Sunday, March 18 — Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, March 18 — Washington at Chicago, 7:00 p.m. (NBCSN)Monday, March 19 — New Jersey at New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, March 19 — Anaheim at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. (NBCSN)Tuesday, March 20 — Phoenix at Dallas, 8:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, March 20 — San Jose at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m. (NBCSN)Wednesday, March 21 — Detroit at New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
More stuff is coming up.
