NHL Game of the Week

Last updated

NHL Game of the Week
Genre NHL game telecasts
Presented by Sean McDonough
Ray Ferraro
Emily Kaplan
Bob Wischusen
A. J. Mleczko
Leah Hextall
Dave Jackson
Steve Levy
Mark Messier
P. K. Subban
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons15
Production
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time180 minutes or until game ends
Production company NBC Sports (2006–2021) ESPN (2021–present)
Original release
Network NBC
ABC
ESPN+
ReleaseJanuary 14, 2006 (2006-01-14) - May 8, 2021 (2021-05-08) (NBC);
November 26, 2021 (2021-11-26) - present (ABC)
Related
NHL on NBC
NHL on ABC

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.

Contents

The branding was previously used by NBC on Sunday afternoons, beginning at the weekend of the NFL Conference Championship games when it held NHL broadcast rights between the 2005–06 and 2020–21 seasons. During the 2016–17, NBC began to promote the Star Sunday brand on both the Game of the Week and its Sunday Night Hockey broadcasts on sister cable network NBCSN, focusing primarily on the NHL's star players. Star Sunday featured extensive pre-game, in-game and post-game coverage of each featured player. The first game under the new package featured the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings on January 22, 2017, with Ryan McDonagh and Dylan Larkin the featured players of their respective teams. [1]

Beginning with the 2021–22 season, ABC replaced NBC as the league's network broadcast partner. [2] [3] Since then, ABC has typically aired one game per weekend, usually on Saturday afternoons, beginning in February. Due to the current arrangement of ABC's sports programming being produced and co-branded by ESPN, the broadcasts carry the NHL on ESPN production and branding.

History

Historically, there was game of the week broadcasts in the past but until NBC Sports took over broadcasting rights to the National Hockey League from ESPN and ABC they were never consistent.

NHL on NBC era

Starting in 2007–08, the most important games on primarily Sundays or Thursdays would be titled NHL on NBC Game of the Week which eventually got moved to only Sundays later that season.

Then as a part of the deal made between NBC and the NHL in 2011–12, the game of the week package would add the NHL Thanksgiving Showdown to its schedule and this would continue until the 2020-21 season. [4] [5]

ESPN/ABC takes over

In March 2021, after nearly 20 years away, ESPN announced it had reacquired broadcasting rights to the NHL and as a part of that deal ABC would take over rights to air the game of the week package. [6] [7] [8] [9]

ABC Hockey Saturday as is would be called would debut on November 26, 2021 with the Thanksgiving Showdown between the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. [10]

ABC’s game of the week coverage consists of mostly of either doubleheaders or tripleheaders from Saturday afternoon to night which usually begins at the last weeks of the season which starts with a 30-minute pregame show. [11]

Schedules

2000s

2006–07 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 13, 20072 P.M. Pittsburgh 5 Philadelphia 3
Boston 1 NY Rangers 3
Los Angeles 5 St. Louis 6
January 28, 20073:30 P.M. Colorado 1 Detroit 3
Dallas 1 Anaheim 4
Philadelphia 2 Atlanta 1
February 11, 20073:30 P.M. Colorado 5 Dallas 7
Tampa Bay 4 New Jersey 1
Chicago 5 Columbus 4
February 18, 20073:30 P.M. Washington 2 Pittsburgh 3
Chicago 1 NY Rangers 2
San Jose 2 Dallas 5
March 4, 200712:30 P.M. Colorado 4 (OT) Detroit 3
Philadelphia 3 Pittsburgh 4 (SO)
March 11, 200712:30 P.M. Boston 6 Detroit 3
Carolina 1 NY Rangers 2 (SO)
March 25, 200712:30 P.M. Boston 1 Pittsburgh 5
NY Rangers 2 (SO) NY Islanders 1
April 1, 200712:30 P.M. Detroit 4 Columbus 1
6 P.M. Los Angeles 2 San Jose 6
April 8, 20071 P.M. Buffalo 3 Philadelphia 4
Chicago 2 Dallas 3

2007–08 season

Starting this season, NBC aired these Game of the Week games on a national basis, in addition to carrying the national broadcasts of the Winter Classic on New Year's Day and the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the Spring.

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 20, 20081:30 P.M. Boston 3 NY Rangers 1
February 3, 20082 P.M. NY Rangers 5 Montreal 3
February 10, 20081 P.M. Anaheim 3 Detroit 2
February 17, 20081 P.M. Detroit 0 Dallas 1
March 2, 200812:30 P.M. Philadelphia 4 NY Rangers 5 (SO)
March 9, 200812:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 4 Washington 2
March 16, 200812 P.M. Philadelphia 1 Pittsburgh 7
March 30, 20083 P.M. NY Rangers 1 Pittsburgh 3
April 6, 200812:30 P.M. Chicago 1 Detroit 4

2008–09 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 18, 200912:30 P.M. NY Rangers 0 Pittsburgh 3
February 8, 200912:30 P.M. Detroit 2 Pittsburgh 0
February 15, 200912:30 P.M. Philadelphia 5 NY Rangers 2
February 22, 200912:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 2 Washington 5
March 8, 200912:30 P.M. Boston 3 NY Rangers 4
March 15, 200912:30 P.M. Philadelphia 1 NY Rangers 4
March 22, 200912:30 P.M. Philadelphia 3 Pittsburgh 1
April 5, 200912:30 P.M. Minnesota 2 Detroit 3
April 12, 20092 P.M. Detroit 0 Chicago 3

2010s

2009–10 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 17, 201012:30 P.M. Chicago 4 (SO) Detroit 3
January 24, 201012:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 2 Philadelphia 1
January 31, 201012:30 P.M. Detroit 1 Pittsburgh 2 (SO)
February 7, 201012:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 4 Washington 5 (OT)
March 7, 201012:30 P.M. Detroit 5 Chicago 4
March 14, 201012:30 P.M. Washington 4 Chicago 3
March 21, 201012:30 P.M. NY Rangers 1 Boston 2
April 4, 201012:30 P.M. Detroit 3 Philadelphia 4
April 11, 201012:30 P.M. Boston 4 (SO) Washington 3

2010–11 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 23, 201112:30 P.M. Philadelphia 4 Chicago 1
February 6, 201112:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 0 Washington 3
February 13, 201112:30 P.M. Boston 2 Detroit 4
February 20, 2011 12:30 P.M. Washington 2 Buffalo 1
Philadelphia 4 N.Y. Rangers 2
Detroit 2 (SO) Minnesota 1
3:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 2 Chicago 3 (SO)
March 6, 201112:30 P.M. Philadelphia 0 NY Rangers 7
March 13, 201112:30 P.M. Chicago 3 Washington 4
March 20, 201112:30 P.M. NY Rangers 5 Pittsburgh 2
April 3, 201112:30 P.M. NY Rangers 3 (SO) Philadelphia 2
April 10, 201112:30 P.M. Detroit 4 Chicago 3

2011–12 season

The Pittsburgh Penguins had an overall five network TV appearances during this season, making it the first NHL team in Pennsylvania and the first NHL team to have overall five network appearances in a regular season.

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 14, 201212:30 P.M. Chicago 2 Detroit 3 (OT)
January 22, 201212:30 P.M. Washington 3 Pittsburgh 4 (OT)
February 12, 201212:30 P.M. Washington 2 NY Rangers 3
February 19, 2012 12:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 2 Buffalo 6
San Jose 2 Detroit 3
St. Louis 1 Chicago 3
3:30 P.M. Boston 0 Minnesota 2
March 4, 201212:30 P.M. Boston 3 NY Rangers 4
March 11, 201212:30 P.M. Boston 2 Pittsburgh 5
March 18, 201212:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 2 Philadelphia 3 (OT)
April 1, 201212:30 P.M. Philadelphia 6 Pittsburgh 4
April 7, 20121 P.M. Chicago 3 (SO) Detroit 2

2012–13 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 19, 20133 P.M. Pittsburgh 3 Philadelphia 1
Chicago 5 Los Angeles 2
January 20, 201312:30 P.M. Philadelphia 2 Buffalo 5
February 3, 201312:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 6 Washington 3
February 10, 201312:30 P.M. Los Angeles 2 Detroit 3
February 17, 2013 12:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 4 Buffalo 3
3:30 P.M. Los Angeles 2 Chicago 3
March 3, 201312:30 P.M. Chicago 2 (SO) Detroit 1
March 10, 201312:30 P.M. NY Rangers 4 Washington 1
March 17, 201312:30 P.M. Boston 1 Pittsburgh 2
March 31, 201312:30 P.M. Chicago 7 Detroit 1
April 7, 201312:30 P.M. St. Louis 1 Detroit 0
April 14, 201312:30 P.M. Chicago 2 St. Louis 0
April 21, 20133 P.M. New Jersey 1 NY Rangers 4
April 27, 20133 P.M.04

2013–14 season

[12]

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 19, 201412:30 P.M. Boston 2 Chicago 3 (SO)
January 26, 2014 12:30 P.M. NY Rangers 7 New Jersey 3
February 2, 201412:30 P.M. Detroit 5 Washington 6 (OT)
March 1, 2014 8 P.M. Pittsburgh 1 Chicago 5
March 2, 2014 12:30 P.M. Philadelphia 5 (OT) Washington 4
March 9, 201412:30 P.M. Detroit 0 NY Rangers 3
March 16, 201412:30 P.M. Philadelphia 4 Pittsburgh 3
March 30, 201412:30 P.M. Boston 4 (SO) Philadelphia 3
April 6, 201412:30 P.M. St. Louis 2 Chicago 4
April 12, 20143 P.M. Philadelphia 4 (OT) Pittsburgh 3
April 13, 201412:30 P.M. Detroit 3 St. Louis 0

2014–15 season

[13]

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 18, 201512:30 P.M. NY Rangers 5 Pittsburgh 2
February 8, 201512:30 P.M. Chicago 4 St. Louis 2
February 15, 201512:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 1 Chicago 2 (SO)
February 22, 2015 12:30 P.M. Washington 2 Philadelphia 3
3:30 P.M. Boston 6 Chicago 2
February 28, 20158 P.M. NY Rangers 2 Philadelphia 4
March 8, 201512:30 P.M. Detroit 3 Boston 5
March 15, 201512:30 P.M. Detroit 5 Pittsburgh 1
March 22, 201512 P.M. St. Louis 1 Detroit 2 (OT)
April 5, 201512:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 4
April 11, 20153 P.M. Minnesota 2 St. Louis 4
San Jose 1 Los Angeles 4

2015–16 season

[14] NBC was supposed to air the Pittsburgh-Washington match-up on January 24, but however, the game was postponed due to hazardous weather, so the network instead selecting St. Louis-Chicago game as their match-up and it aired in the Primetime slot.

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 24, 201612:30 P.M. Pittsburgh Washington PPD
January 24, 20167 P.M. St. Louis 0 Chicago 2
February 7, 201612 P.M. Philadelphia 2 Washington 3
February 14, 20163:30 P.M. Boston 5 Detroit 6
February 21, 2016 12:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 4 Buffalo 3
3:30 P.M. Chicago 1 Minnesota 6
February 27, 2016 8 P.M. Detroit 5 Colorado 3
February 28, 201612:30 P.M. Washington 2 Chicago 3
March 13, 201612:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 5 NY Rangers 3
April 3, 201612:30 P.M. Boston 4 Chicago 6
April 9, 20163 P.M. Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 3

2016–17 season

During the season, NBC's Star Sunday concept was added to the Game of the Week package. [15] The first game under the new brand took place on January 22, 2017, in a game between the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings. [1]

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 15, 20171:00 P.M. Philadelphia 0 Washington 5
January 22, 2017* [nb 1] 12:30 P.M. N.Y. Rangers 1 Detroit 0
February 5, 2017* [nb 2] 12 P.M. Los Angeles 0 Washington 5
February 12, 2017* [nb 3] 3 P.M. Detroit 3 Minnesota 6
February 19, 2017 12:30 P.M. Washington 1 N.Y. Rangers 2
3:30 P.M. Detroit 5 Pittsburgh 2
February 25, 2017 8 P.M. Philadelphia 2 Pittsburgh 4
February 26, 2017* [nb 4] 12:30 P.M. Boston 6 Dallas 3
March 12, 2017* [nb 5] 12:30 P.M. Minnesota 2 Chicago 4
March 26, 2017* [nb 6] 12:30 P.M. Minnesota 2 Detroit 3(OT)
April 2, 2017* [nb 7] 12:30 P.M. Boston 3 Chicago 2
April 8, 20173 P.M. Washington 3 Boston 1

(*) Designated as a Star Sunday game.

2017–18 season

During this season, the Philadelphia Flyers had an overall five network TV appearances, making it the final NHL team in Pennsylvania and the second NHL team to have overall five network appearances (the first was Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011–12 season). [16] NBC initially announced that no NHL games would be aired on the network during the 2018 Winter Olympics, however they changed course and added three Sunday afternoon games in February as a lead-in to the Winter Olympics, allowing Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk to stay home and call 3 NHL games. [17] [18] [19] [20] NBC correctly switched the final minutes of the 2018 NHL Stadium Series to its sister network NBCSN (except for viewers in the Washington D.C. market) at 11 p.m. Eastern Time after play stoppage due to the power outage delay. [21] Star Sunday returned on March 11, 2018, both as part of the Game of the Week and Sunday Night Hockey package.

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 14, 201812:30 P.M. Detroit 4 Chicago 0
January 21, 201812:30 P.M. Philadelphia 2 (OT) Washington 1
February 11, 201812:20 P.M. Pittsburgh 4 St. Louis 1
February 18, 201812:20 P.M. Philadelphia 7 N.Y. Rangers 5
February 25, 201812:20 P.M. St. Louis 0 Nashville 4
March 3, 2018 8 P.M. Toronto 2 Washington 5
March 11, 2018* [nb 8] 12:30 P.M. Boston 1 Chicago 3
March 25, 2018* [nb 9] 12:30 P.M. Philadelphia 4 Pittsburgh 5 (OT)
April 1, 2018* [nb 10] 12:30 P.M. Boston 3 Philadelphia 4 (OT)
April 7, 20183 P.M. N.Y. Rangers 0 Philadelphia 5

(*) Designated as a Star Sunday game.

2018–19 season

[22] For the first time, NBC selected two regional games which to aired it in primetime on February 2, 2019. Star Sunday returned on February 3, 2019, both as part of the Game of the Week and Sunday Night Hockey package. This marked the first and only season of Star Sunday to have its presenting sponsor; AT&T was the first presenting sponsor and they branded themselves as Star Sunday presented by AT&T.

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 20, 201912:30 P.M. Washington 5 Chicago 8
February 2, 20198 P.M. Tampa Bay 3 N.Y. Rangers 2
Chicago 4 (OT) Minnesota 3
February 3, 2019* [nb 11] 12:30 P.M. Boston 1 Washington 0
February 10, 2019* [nb 12] 12:30 P.M. St. Louis 5(OT) Nashville 4
February 17, 2019 12:30 P.M. N.Y. Rangers 5 Pittsburgh 6
3:30 P.M. St. Louis 4 Minnesota 0
February 23, 2019 8 P.M. Pittsburgh 3 Philadelphia 4 (OT)
March 3, 2019* [nb 13] 12:30 P.M. Washington 3 (SO) N.Y. Rangers 2
March 24, 2019* [nb 14] 12:30 P.M. Philadelphia 1 Washington 3
March 31, 2019* [nb 15] 12:30 P.M. N.Y. Rangers 3 Philadelphia 0

(*) Designated as a Star Sunday game.

2020s

2019–20 season (NBC)

For this season only, Brian Boucher replaced Pierre McGuire on the lead broadcast team with Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk. McGuire would be reassigned to work with NBC's other broadcast teams. The Pittsburgh Penguins originally had six network television appearances during that season (for the first time since the 2011–12 season), however, due to the cancellation of their final two network TV appearances (the Washington-Pittsburgh match-up on March 22 and the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia match-up on March 29) because of the coronavirus pandemic, they reduced to four [23] [24] as the games are postponed due to the pandemic, in which the rest of the regular season was paused indefinitely due to the pandemic. [25] [26] [27] [28] All players and hockey staff were asked to self-quarantine in their home cities until further notice. [29] [30] [31] [32] On May 26, 2020, Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, was announced that the rest of the regular season was cancelled. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 19, 202012:30 P.M. Boston 3 Pittsburgh 4
February 2, 202012:30 P.M. Pittsburgh 4 Washington 3
February 9, 202012:30 P.M. Boston 1 Detroit 3
February 15, 2020 8 P.M. Los Angeles 3 Colorado 1
February 16, 2020 12:30 P.M. Detroit 1 Pittsburgh 5
3:30 P.M. Boston 3 N.Y. Rangers 1
February 23, 202012 P.M. Pittsburgh 3 Washington 5
March 1, 202012 P.M. Philadelphia 5 N.Y. Rangers 3

2020–21 season (NBC)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the 2020–21 NHL season has been delayed to January 13, 2021, and all teams would play a 56-game division-only schedule with the NHL temporarily realigning divisions to minimize travel as much as possible, with all seven Canadian teams playing one division due to COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada.

NBC Sports broadcast 16 NHL regular season games, which is the most ever NHL regular season games broadcast on NBC. The NHL on NBC schedule featured a number of rivalries, including the Capitals–Penguins rivalry, the Blackhawks–Red Wings rivalry, the Bruins-Rangers rivalry, and the Avalanche-Blues rivalry. Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals had five network television appearances this season, the third NHL team to have largest appearances during the regular season. The final NHL on NBC game was on May 8, 2021, with two games aired regionally, all but New York metro and Boston markets, who got the Penguins-Sabres game, got the Bruins-Rangers rivalry game, and the regional games were shared with the teams' respective broadcasters in their aforementioned markets. [40] [41] It also marked as the final season for the games to aired on NBC after 16 years, as 10 games were regained by over-the-air ABC beginning next season. [42]

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 17, 202112 P.M. Washington 3 Pittsburgh 4 (SO)
January 24, 202112:30 P.M. Detroit 2 Chicago 6
February 7, 202112 P.M. Philadelphia 7 Washington 4
February 14, 20213 P.M. Washington 3 Pittsburgh 6
February 20, 2021 3 P.M. [nb 16] Vegas 2 Colorado 3
February 21, 20213 P.M. [nb 17] New Jersey 3 Washington 4
February 28, 202112 P.M. Boston 4 N.Y. Rangers 1
March 7, 2021 12 P.M. Buffalo 2 N.Y. Islanders 5
March 28, 202112 P.M. N.Y. Rangers 4 Washington 5
April 4, 202112 P.M. Detroit 5 Tampa Bay 1
April 17, 20213 P.M. Pittsburgh 3 Buffalo 2
April 18, 202112 P.M. Washington 3 Boston 6
April 24, 20213 P.M. Colorado 3 St. Louis 5
April 25, 20213 P.M. Boston 0 Pittsburgh 1
May 2, 20213 P.M. Tampa Bay 2 Detroit 1
May 8, 2021 [nb 18] 3 P.M. N.Y. Rangers 5 Boston 4
Buffalo 0 Pittsburgh 1

2021–22 season (ABC)

This season, ABC took over as the national over-the-air broadcaster for the NHL as part of a seven-year multiplatform deal with ESPN. They kicked off their coverage with the Thanksgiving Showdown on November 26th. All games were simulcast on ESPN+, and featured a stats-based IceCast alternate broadcast, excluding the Thanksgiving Showdown.

DateTeamsStart times (All times Eastern) Play-by-play Color commentator(s)Inside the Glass analystIce level reporterNotes
November 26 New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins 1:00 p.m. Sean McDonough Ray Ferraro A. J. Mleczko Bruins-Rangers rivalry
2021 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown
Originally Blues-Blackhawks, which filled the vacant 3:30 ET slot on ESPN+, which Rangers-Bruins had occupied
February 26New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins 3:00 p.m.Ray Ferraro Emily Kaplan Penguins-Rangers rivalry
Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
March 5 Chicago Blackhawks vs. Philadelphia Flyers 3:00 p.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Finals rematch
Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
March 12Philadelphia Flyers vs. Carolina Hurricanes 3:00 p.m.Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced, and broadcast on ESPN+
March 19New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning 8:00 p.m.First ever NHL regular season game on ABC to air in primetime
Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
March 26Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vegas Golden Knights 3:00 p.m.Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
April 2Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Colorado Avalanche 3:00 p.m.Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
April 9 Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins3:00 p.m. Capitals–Penguins rivalry
Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin
Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
April 16 Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues 3:00 p.m. 2022 Winter Classic rematch
Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+
April 23New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins3:00 p.m.Bruins-Rangers rivalry
Special “IceCast” alternate broadcast was also produced and broadcast on ESPN+

2022–23 season (ABC)

ABC lost the rights to the Thanksgiving Showdown to TNT, but gained the rights to the NHL Stadium Series in return. ABC also introduced doubleheaders on select Saturdays, as well as a tripleheader during the last Saturday of the season. Like last season, all games were simulcast on ESPN+, and featured a separate Star Watch, Puck Possesser, or All-12 alternate broadcast.

DateTeamsStart times (All times Eastern) Play-by-play Color commentator(s)Ice-level analyst(s)Rinkside reporter(s)Rules analystNotes
February 11 Tampa Bay at Dallas 1 p.m. Bob Wischusen Brian Boucher Leah Hextall Dave Jackson 2020 Stanley Cup Finals rematch
Washington at Boston 3:30 p.m. Sean McDonough Ray Ferraro Emily Kaplan
February 18Washington at Carolina 8 p.m.Emily Kaplan, Kevin Weekes , and Marty Smith 2023 NHL Stadium Series
Game was originally scheduled to air on ESPN
February 25 New York Rangers at Washington1 p.m.Emily Kaplan Capitals–Rangers rivalry
Pittsburgh at St. Louis 3:30 p.m.Bob WischusenBrian BoucherLeah Hextall
March 4New York Rangers at Boston1 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily KaplanBruins–Rangers rivalry
Colorado at Dallas3:30 p.m.Bob WischusenBrian BoucherLeah Hextall
March 11 Detroit at Boston1 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily Kaplan
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh3:30 p.m.Bob WischusenBrian BoucherLeah Hextall Flyers–Penguins rivalry
March 18Pittsburgh at New York Rangers8 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily KaplanPenguins–Rangers rivalry
2022 First Round rematch
March 25Washington at Pittsburgh Capitals–Penguins rivalry
Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin
April 1Boston at Pittsburgh3 p.m. 2023 NHL Winter Classic rematch
April 8Pittsburgh at Detroit1 p.m.Bob WischusenBrian BoucherLeah HextallOriginally Blues-Wild
2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals rematch
Vegas at Dallas3:30 p.m. Mike Monaco A. J. Mleczko
New Jersey at Boston8 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily KaplanOriginally Penguins-Red Wings, which filled the 1 ET void left by Blues-Wild being flexed out
Bruins can tie NHL team record for most wins in a regular season.

2023-24 season (ABC)

ABC had four doubleheader weeks this season, as well as the Stadium Series, and two tripleheaders, one on the same day as the first game of the Stadium Series, the other on the last Saturday of the season. All games will once again be simulcast on ESPN+.

DateTeamsStart times (All times Eastern) Play-by-play Color commentator(s)Ice-level analyst(s)Rinkside reporter(s)Rules analystNotes
January 13 New York Rangers at Washington 1 p.m. Sean McDonough Ray Ferraro Emily Kaplan Dave Jackson Capitals–Rangers rivalry
February 10 St. Louis at Buffalo 1 p.m. Bob Wischusen A. J. Mleczko
Washington at Boston 3:30 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily Kaplan
February 17 Los Angeles at Boston 12:30 p.m.Bob Wischusen Ryan Callahan Leah Hextall Added to replace the Oilers-Bruins matchup for March 5th on ESPN+ and Hulu
Edmonton at Dallas 3 p.m. Mike Monaco A. J. MleczkoFirst game on ABC to feature Canadian team since 2004 Stanley Cup Finals
Philadelphia at New Jersey 8 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily Kaplan and Kevin Weekes Devils–Flyers rivalry
2024 NHL Stadium Series
February 18New York Rangers at New York Islanders 3 p.m. Islanders–Rangers rivalry
2024 NHL Stadium Series
February 24St. Louis at Detroit noon.Bob WischusenKevin WeekesLeah Hextall
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia3 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily Kaplan Flyers-Rangers rivalry
Originally scheduled to air on ESPN+ and Hulu
March 2 Florida at Detroit3 p.m.Originally Wild-Blues
March 9 Carolina at New Jersey12:30 p.m. John Buccigross Ryan Callahan 2023 Conference Semifinals rematch
Added to replace the Oilers-Sabres matchup scheduled to air on ESPN+ and Hulu that same day
Pittsburgh at Boston3 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily KaplanAlternate NHL Big City Greens Classic broadcast aired alongside ABC feed on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney+, and ESPN+
March 16New York Rangers at Pittsburgh3 p.m.Penguins-Rangers rivalry
March 23 Florida at New York Rangers8 p.m.
April 6 Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh1 p.m.Bob WischusenRyan CallahanLeah Hextall
Florida at Boston3:30 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily Kaplan 2023 First Round rematch
April 13New York Islanders at New York Rangers12:30 p.m.Bob WischusenRyan CallahanLeah HextallIslanders-Rangers rivalry
2024 Stadium Series rematch
Seattle at Dallas3 p.m.Mike MonacoA. J. Mleczko Blake Bolden 2023 Conference Semifinals rematch
Boston at Pittsburgh8 p.m.Sean McDonoughRay FerraroEmily Kaplan

Notes

  1. NBC selected Ryan McDonagh and Dylan Larkin as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  2. NBC selected Jeff Carter and Alexander Ovechkin as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  3. NBC selected Henrik Zetterberg and Devan Dubnyk as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  4. NBC selected David Pastrnak and Tyler Seguin as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  5. NBC selected Eric Staal and Duncan Keith as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  6. NBC selected Mikko Koivu as featured Star Sunday player for the game. No Red Wings player was selected; instead Joe Louis Arena was selected as the Red Wings' representative to mark the network's final game at the venue.
  7. NBC selected Patrice Bergeron and Brent Seabrook as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  8. NBC selected David Krejci and Patrick Kane as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  9. NBC selected Claude Giroux and Sidney Crosby as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  10. NBC selected Wayne Simmonds and Patrice Bergeron as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  11. NBC selected Alexander Ovechkin and Patrice Bergeron as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  12. NBC selected Vladimir Tarasenko and P. K. Subban as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  13. NBC selected Nicklas Backstrom and Mika Zibanejad as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  14. NBC selected Claude Giroux and T. J. Oshie as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  15. NBC selected Sean Couturier and Mika Zibanejad as featured Star Sunday players for the game.
  16. Game postponed after the first period due to weather concerns. Resumed at 12 A.M. on NBCSN.
  17. The Rangers were originally scheduled to be the Capitals' opponent, but that game was moved to March 20. As a result, the Capitals' home game against the Devils on March 7 was rescheduled to February 21, and due to the rescheduling of the Flyers–Bruins game at Lake Tahoe, this game was moved to the Game of the Week slot.
  18. The Rangers–Bruins game was televised in most markets, with MSG Network and NESN airing the game in the New York and Boston markets. The Sabres–Penguins game was televised exclusively in the New York and Boston markets, with MSG Western New York and AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh airing the game in the Buffalo and Pittsburgh markets.

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In the United States, sports are televised on various broadcast networks, national and specialty sports cable channels, and regional sports networks. U.S. sports rights are estimated to be worth a total of $22.42 billion in 2019, about 44 percent of the total worldwide sports media market. U.S. networks are willing to pay a significant amount of money for television sports contracts because it attracts large amounts of viewership; live sport broadcasts accounted for 44 of the 50 list of most watched television broadcasts in the United States in 2016.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hockey Weekend Across America</span> Annual ice hockey promotional event

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 (2011–2021) and TNT (2024–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hockey League on television</span> Overview of North American professional ice hockey on television

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.

<i>Wednesday Night Rivalry</i> 2013–2021 National Hockey League games on NBCSN

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.

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 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.

After Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, CBC began showing occasional double-headers when Canadian teams visited Los Angeles to showcase the sport's most popular player. These games were often joined in progress, as the regular start time for Hockey Night in Canada was still 8 p.m. Eastern Time and the Kings home games began at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Beginning in the 1995 season, weekly double-headers became permanent, with games starting at 7:30 Eastern and 7:30 Pacific, respectively. In 1998, the start times were moved ahead to 7 p.m. ET and PT.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHL on television in the 2010s</span>

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.

The NHL on TNT is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by TNT Sports, and televised on TNT and streamed on Max in the United States.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American sports broadcasting</span>

When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.

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.

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