Hockey Weekend Across America is an annual event devised by USA Hockey to promote the game of ice hockey in the United States. The weekend is capped by "Hockey Day in America", with broadcasts of National Hockey League games on the national networks of NBC.
In 2011, each day of the three-day event had a particular theme. Friday was "Wear Your Favorite Hockey Jersey Day". Saturday, "Bring a Friend to the Rink Day", featured a number of "Try Hockey for Free" clinics throughout the country. Sunday was "Celebrate Local Hockey Heroes Day". [1]
Four NHL games were broadcast on NBC on Sunday. The first three were regional games broadcast to specific regions of the country: Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings at Minnesota Wild. The fourth game, Pittsburgh Penguins at Chicago Blackhawks, was broadcast nationally. [2]
Coincidentally, in neighboring Canada, there were also significant hockey celebrations that weekend, associated with the 2011 Heritage Classic held the same day as Hockey Day in America. The two events were unrelated, but the NHL scheduled the Sunday games so that the regional doubleheader led into the Heritage Classic, forming a tripleheader.
The American Hockey League held the "Whale Bowl," the second annual installment of its outdoor game series, on the Saturday of the same weekend. The Providence Bruins defeated the host team Connecticut Whale 5–4 in a shootout in front of 15,234 fans at Rentschler Field. Included in the same set of festivities were two other outdoor game, one involving college hockey teams and another an alumni game featuring former members of the Boston Bruins and Hartford Whalers, the namesakes (and in the case of the Bruins, the NHL affiliate) of the two teams participating in the Whale Bowl.
Sunday's "Hockey Day in America" was headquartered at McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink within Millennium Park in Chicago, where the Stanley Cup was on display. [2]
Hockey Weekend Across America followed a similar format for 2012. Hockey Day in America, held February 19, featured the Sabres hosting the Penguins, the Red Wings hosting the San Jose Sharks, and St. Louis at Chicago in the regional action; the Wild hosted the Bruins in the nationally televised afternoon game, while the New Jersey Devils traveled to face the Montreal Canadiens in the nightcap on NBC Sports Network. Coverage was headquartered at Landmark Plaza in St. Paul, Minnesota. The TV coverage earned the highest ratings for a non-Winter Classic regular season game since NBC took over the broadcast contract. [3]
All 30 AHL teams played on February 19, but no outdoor games were scheduled at any level.
The 2013 Hockey Day in America, held on February 17, featured three nationally televised games: Pittsburgh at Buffalo and the Los Angeles Kings at Chicago on NBC, and Washington at New York Rangers on NBCSN. [4] NBC headquartered its coverage from Wollman Rink in New York City.
The 2014 Hockey Weekend Across America was scheduled on March 1–2, later than previous years due to the Winter Olympic hockey tournament in mid-February. NBC Sports televised games on both days. On Saturday Night, March 1, NBC televised the closing game of the 2014 NHL Stadium Series between the Pittsburgh and Chicago. On the next day, NBC had Washington at Philadelphia; while NBCSN televised the 2014 Heritage Classic between the Ottawa Senators and the Vancouver Canucks, followed by Boston at the NY Rangers.
The 2015 Hockey Weekend Across America was held on February 21–22, during the 35th Anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice". Members of the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey Team, who defeated the Soviet Union national team during the medal-round at the 1980 Winter Olympics, reunited at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York. [5] NBC also headquartered its coverage from Lake Placid. NBCSN televised the 2015 NHL Stadium Series between Los Angeles and the San Jose on February 21. The next day featured three nationally televised games: Washington at Philadelphia and Boston at Chicago on NBC, and the Dallas Stars at Minnesota on NBCSN. [6]
The 2016 weekend was held on February 21, with three games under the Hockey Day in America banner being played on Sunday, February 21: Pittsburgh at Buffalo followed by a 2016 NHL Stadium Series game between Chicago and Minnesota on NBC, and then Detroit at the NY Rangers on NBCSN. The Minnesota Wild destroyed the Blackhawks 6–1 in the outdoor game. While The Rangers beat the Red Wings 1–0 in OT. The Penguins also beat the Sabres 4–3. [7]
The 2017 weekend was held on February 19, with NBC and NBCSN combining to show a quadruple header for their Hockey Day in America coverage on Sunday, February 19. The action started on NBC with Washington at New York Rangers at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by Detroit at Pittsburgh at 3:30 p.m. ET. The action then shifted to NBCSN with Chicago at Buffalo at 6 p.m. ET, and concluded with Boston at San Jose 8:30 p.m. ET. [8]
The 2019 weekend was held on February 17, with NBC and NBCSN combining to show a triple-header for their Hockey Day in America coverage on Sunday, February 17. The action started on NBC with the Pittsburgh Penguins hosting the NY Rangers, followed by a game between St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild. The action shifts to NBCSN for a conclusion with Philadelphia at Detroit. Also, in a format change, "Inside the Glass" reporter Pierre McGuire called the early game of Hockey Day in America (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC) while Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and "Inside-the-Glass" reporter Brian Boucher called the second game of the doubleheader (3:30 p.m. ET; NBC). McGuire joins the lead team on all other NHL Game of the Week games. [9]
The 2020 Hockey Weekend Across America was held on February 15–16 and commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. NBC Sports televised games on both days. On Saturday night, February 15, NBC broadcast the 2020 NHL Stadium Series between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche. The next day, NBC broadcast Detroit at Pittsburgh, followed by Boston at New York Rangers, while NBCSN showed St. Louis at Nashville. [10]
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL reduced the regular season to 56 games. [11] Consequently, the 2021 weekend was in March, with NBC and NBCSN combining to show a quadruple header for their Hockey Day in America coverage on Sunday, March 7. [12]
This was also NBC's final season covering NHL games, as the national television contracts in the U.S. were awarded to ESPN/ABC and TNT effective the 2021–22 season. Neither ESPN nor TNT chose to continue NBC's tradition of covering special NHL broadcasts as part of Hockey Day in America.
The NHL on NBC is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by NBC Sports, and televised on NBC properties, including MSNBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, USA Network and NBCSN in the United States.
The following is an overview of the television ratings for the NBC's National Hockey League telecasts.
The NHL on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by CBS Sports and televised on CBS in the United States.
The National Hockey League has never fared as well on American television in comparison to the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, or the National Football League, although that has begun to change, with NBC's broadcasts of the final games of the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013 Stanley Cup Finals scoring some of the best ratings ever enjoyed by the sport on American television.
The 2014 NHL Stadium Series was a series of four outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2013–14 season. This series is distinct from the NHL Winter Classic and NHL Heritage Classic outdoor games. The Stadium Series games consisted of: the Los Angeles Kings against the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on January 25, 2014; the New Jersey Devils against the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx of New York City on January 26; the New York Islanders against the Rangers at Yankee Stadium on January 29; and the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Chicago Blackhawks at Soldier Field in Chicago on March 1, 2014.
The 2016 NHL Stadium Series was a series of two outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games played during the 2015–16 NHL season. The 2016 Stadium Series consisted of the Minnesota Wild versus the Chicago Blackhawks at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on February 21, 2016, and the Colorado Avalanche versus the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field in Denver on February 27, 2016.
Wednesday Night Rivalry and Wednesday Night Hockey was the branding used for National Hockey League games that aired on NBCSN on Wednesday nights during the regular season from January 2013 to May 2021.
The National Hockey League Game of the Week is a branding used for regular season National Hockey League weekend games that are typically televised on a national broadcast network in the U.S.
Sunday Night Hockey was a weekly presentation of National Hockey League games that air on NBCSN on Sundays during the regular season. Sunday Night Hockey usually debuts during the second Sunday of January.
From 1965 through 1975, in addition to the Saturday night game on CBC, Hockey Night in Canada also produced and broadcast a Wednesday night game on CTV, CBC's privately owned competitor; beginning in the 1975–76 NHL season, these midweek games would begin to be broadcast by local stations.
From 1965 through 1975, in addition to the Saturday night game on CBC, Hockey Night in Canada also produced and broadcast a Wednesday night game on CTV, CBC's privately owned competitor; beginning in the 1975–76 NHL season, these midweek games began to broadcast by local stations. In 1970–71, the Vancouver Canucks joined the NHL, meaning that there were now three possible venues for an HNIC telecast.
Since 2000, the CBC has aired an annual special Hockey Day in Canada broadcast to celebrate the game in Canada. The broadcast includes hockey-related features all afternoon, leading up to a tripleheader of NHL action featuring the seven Canadian teams. One exception was the 2008 edition that featured four games including two American teams along with the six Canadian teams; this was due to the NHL's schedule format at the time, as there was no inter-conference games between Canadian teams. Lead commentators, Don Cherry and Ron MacLean broadcast from a remote area. The broadcast includes live broadcast segments from smaller communities right across the country and features panel discussions on issues facing "Canada's game" at both the minor and pro levels. The day is usually in mid-February, but was broadcast in early January in 2002 and 2006 due to the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics, respectively; the 2007 event was also held in January, though no sporting events key to Canada were scheduled.
On April 19, 2011, after ESPN, Turner Sports, and Fox Sports placed bids, NBC Sports announced it had reached a ten-year extension to its U.S. television contract with the NHL worth nearly $2 billion over the tenure of the contract. The contract would cover games on both NBC and sister cable channel Versus, which became part of the NBC Sports family as the result of Versus parent Comcast's controlling purchase of NBC Universal earlier in 2011.
NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe was a series of two outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) games, held on the weekend of February 20–21, 2021. Both games were played without fans at a rink on the 18th fairway of the Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada, on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. The elevation of the rink was approximately 6,240 feet (1,900 m) above sea level.
NBC Sports's deal with the National Hockey League for U.S. television rights ran through the 2020–21 season, and was replaced in 2021–22 by seven-year agreements with ESPN and TNT to split coverage.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is shown on national television in the United States and Canada. With 25 teams in the U.S. and 7 in Canada, the NHL is the only one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada that maintains separate national broadcasters in each country, each producing separate telecasts of a slate of regular season games, playoff games, and the Stanley Cup Finals.