Thanks to the NBC Sports public relations people, we have the weekend announcing assignments for the four games that will be shown on NBC and NBCSN.
Today, NBC airs Game 2 of Montreal at Boston at 12:30 p.m. It will lead into NBC’s Kentucky Derby coverage and if the game goes into overtime, the game will remain on NBC, but only for two overtimes. If the game goes to a third OT, NBCSN will take over the telecast.
Let’s see where the announcing teams will go and what NBC is saying about Game 1 of Montreal-Boston on NBCSN.
NHL ON NBC ANNOUNCING ASSIGNMENTS FOR SATURDAY, MAY 3 AND SUNDAY, MAY 4 (All times ET)
SATURDAY, MAY 3 Time Coverage Network Commentators 12:30 p.m. Game 2 – (3) Montreal at (1) Boston NBC Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire NHL Live (Intermission Reports) NBC Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones 7:30 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones 8 p.m. Game 1 – (3) Los Angeles at (1) Anaheim NBCSN John Forslund, Brian Hayward SUNDAY, MAY 4 3 p.m. Game 2 – (4) Minnesota at (1) Chicago NBC Mike “Doc” Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire NHL Live (Intermission Reports) NBC Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones 6:30 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones 7:30 p.m. Game 2 – (2) N.Y. Rangers at (1) Pittsburgh NBCSN Dave Strader, Brian Engblom ******************************************************************************
SATURDAY, MAY 3
NBC will present coverage of Game 2 between the Canadiens and Bruins at 12:30 p.m. ET, as Boston looks to even the series. Last night, Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk scored with 1:58 left in regulation to force overtime, before Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban scored a power-play goal 4:17 into double overtime to give the Canadiens a 4-3 win. Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike “Doc” Emrick will call the action alongside analyst Eddie Olczyk and McGuire from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
Coverage continues at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Game 1 between the Kings and Ducks, in the first ever postseason meeting between the two franchises separated just 30 miles from each other. The Ducks defeated the Stars in six games to advance, while the Kings staged an improbable first-round comeback, erasing a 0-3 deficit to the Sharks with four straight victories to become just the fourth team in Stanley Cup Playoff history to win after falling behind 0-3 in a series. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Brian Hayward (analyst) will call Game 1 from Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
SUNDAY, MAY 4
NBC’s second-round coverage continues at 3 p.m. ET, as the Blackhawks host the Wild in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series. Emrick, Olczyk, and McGuire will call the action from United Center in Chicago. Coverage continues on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET, as the Penguins host the Rangers in Game 2 of their series. Strader and Engblom will provide live commentary from CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
CANADIENS-BRUINS DOUBLE-OVERTIME GAME 1 THRILLER DELIVERS RECORD VIEWERSHIP
Thursday night’s double-overtime Game 1 of the Canadiens-Bruins series on NBCSN, averaged 1.925 million viewers, setting numerous NBCSN records: the most-watched second-round Game 1 ever; the most-watched second-round game featuring a Canadian team ever; and the third-most watched second-round game ever, trailing only Game 6 and Game 7 of last year’s Detroit-Chicago series, according to The Nielsen Company.
The game, in which the Canadiens won 4-3 to take a 1-0 series lead, peaked with 2.547 million viewers in the 10 p.m. ET quarter-hour, when the Bruins tied the game towards the end of regulation. NBCSN ranked No. 3 among all networks among M18-49 in primetime (8-11 p.m. ET), behind only TNT and CBS.
Beginning in the second round, NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is exclusive and hometown markets are no longer blacked out on cable. In Boston, the game drew a 17.6 HH rating, the market’s second-best second-round rating ever on NBCSN, trailing only Game 5 of Rangers-Bruins last year (17.9 HH rating).
The double-overtime game also generated massive digital consumption on NBC Sports Live Extra with 3.8 million minutes and 65,000 unique viewers, according to Adobe Reports & Analytics. The 3.8 million minutes are not only a record for a second-round game, but are the most minutes for any NHL authentication-required game ever, beating last year’s Stanley Cup Final Game 2 between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks (3.2 million). The 65,000 unique viewers are the most for an authentication-required second-round game, and second-most for any authentication-required NHL game behind only last year’s Stanley Cup Final Game 2 (71,000).
That will do it.
