Canadian Crossing

Stanley Cup notebook: No match for Sidney Crosby hat trick

Sidney Crosby. Hat trick. That isn't going to help.

Except for a Kyle Turris power play goal, Crosby would have pulled off a natural hat trick as the Penguins jumped out to a 3-1 lead and a 4-3 win in Game 2.

With Alex Ovechkin out of the playoffs, Gary Bettman/NBC is thrilled with Sidney Crosby's success. And unfortunately for Ottawa, Crosby scores more often against the Senators in the playoffs than he does in the regular season.

Ottawa kept it close, especially after Robin Lehner entered the game in goal for the Sens. But close doesn't count in playoff hockey.

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The NBC announcers, as one of their many themes, obsessed about Pittsburgh's inability to win the first 2 games in a series. Even if the Penguins win the series, winning the first 2 games isn't that big of a deal. But this felt more important to the NBC team than anyone watching at home, including those in Pittsburgh.

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The Senators desperately miss Jason Spezza in this series, but the team is getting some good scoring from Colin Greening and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. They just need more offense than they have had to this point.

You get a sense that the Penguins have a distinct advantage in penalties in this series. This is especially bad for Ottawa, since Pittsburgh is really good on the power play.

The problem is that in watching the CBC and TSN announcers in the regular season and Round 1, I rely on them to tell me whether calls are good or bad. The NBC announcers really suffer in this area. They either know and won't tell us, or they aren't paying attention.

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Rick Peckham is not a great play-by-play announcer. He might be "good enough" by U.S. standards for Round 1. But like the half of the teams that don't make it to Round 2, Peckham deserves an early vacation.

Great to see NBC bringing us all the playoff games, but they need to bring us better announcers that can handle the national spotlight.

Kenny Albert would qualify, but he isn't available until Game 4 in Ottawa. Right now, we'd take Dave Randorf over Rick Peckham. The ideal call would be to use someone like Ken Daniels (Detroit), but Daniels doesn't seem interested. NBC should make this a priority or start using Canadian CBC or TSN sim subs even in Round 2.

CBC has 4 main crews; NBC should have something close to that.

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We hoped to see another Tim Hortons ad in Game 2, but perhaps the Game 1 airing was a fluke.

Seeing an ad for Tim Horton's in the United States is a bit unusual, given that most states don't have a Tim Hortons. Then again, Tim Hortons are more likely to be found in an area that appreciates hockey.

But the ad that ran on the NBC Sports Network ended with a call to own a Tim Hortons franchise. This sounded and felt like no other Tim Hortons ad we've seen outside Canadian television.

In the Pittsburgh arena, you see Tim Hortons on the boards, though that might be for the CBC telecast.

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs scoreboard

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference

(1) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa Pittsburgh leads series 2-0
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 14	Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 1	7:30p	NBCSN
May 17	Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 3	7:30p	NBCSN
May 19	at Ottawa	7:30p	NBCSN
May 22	at Ottawa	7:30p	NBCSN
May 24	at Pittsburgh+	7:30p	NBCSN
May 26	at Ottawa+	TBD	TBD
May 28	at Pittsburgh+	TBD	TBD
All games on CBC and RDS in Canada.

 

(2) Montréal vs. (7) Ottawa Ottawa wins series 4-1
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 2	Ottawa 4, Montréal 2	7p	CNBC*
May 3	Montréal 3, Ottawa 1	7p	CNBC*
May 5	Ottawa 6, Montréal 1	7p	NBCSN*
May 7	Ottawa 3, Montréal 2 (OT)	7p	CNBC*
May 9	Ottawa 6, Montréal 1	7p	CNBC*
All games on CBC and RDS in Canada.

 

(4) Boston vs. (5) Toronto Boston wins series 4-3
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 1	Boston 4, Toronto 1	7p	CNBC
May 4	Toronto 4, Boston 2	7p	CNBC*
May 6	Boston 5, Toronto 2	7p	NHLN*
May 8	Boston 4, Toronto 3 (OT)	7p	CNBC*
May 10	Toronto 2, Boston 1	7p	NHLN*
May 12	Toronto 2, Boston 1	7:30p	NBCSN*
May 13	Boston 5, Toronto 4 (OT)	7p	CNBC
All games on CBC and RDS in Canada.

 

Western Conference

(3) Vancouver vs. (6) San Jose San Jose wins series 4-0
Date	Location	Time	U.S. TV
May 1	San Jose 3, Vancouver 1	10:30p	NBCSN
May 3	San Jose 3, Vancouver 2 (OT)	10p	CNBC
May 5	San Jose 5, Vancouver 2	10p	NBCSN
May 7	San Jose 4, Vancouver 3 (OT)	10p	CNBC
All games on TSN and RDS in Canada.

all times Eastern Daylight Time
* Canadian TV feed
+ if needed

New 2013 fall TV schedule has some Canadian flavour

The American TV networks held their upfronts this week, and Canadians are a bit more obvious in the upcoming fall schedules. CTV, Global, et al. will have their opportunities to pick from the U.S. shows to fill out their schedules.

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Michael J. Fox is back on television in the "Michael J. Fox Show" on NBC. Fox plays a New York City anchor (for WNBC-TV because, well, synergy) who is suffering from Parkinson's. In the trailer, Fox's character isn't always cheerful, a nice break from some of his earlier roles.

I watched trailers for 3 of NBC's new comedies for Thursday. The show's trailer was the only one that made me laugh.

This idea of incorporating his Parkinson's is one that should have happened a while back. Not having a canned laugh track will definitely help.

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"24" is coming back, well, sort of. Fox is returning to the long-running drama as a limited series. Kiefer Sutherland is back in his role as Jack Bauer. Sutherland's drama for the last 2 years, "Touch," was just cancelled by Fox.

No word on whether Elisha Cuthbert will be a part of the new "24." Her TV show "Happy Endings" got cancelled by ABC and her fiance is home for the summer.

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Killer Women is a midseason replacement drama on ABC. Tricia Helfer plays Molly Parker, the only female Texas Ranger. Her character is "ballsy, badass" surrounded by law enforcement colleagues who want her to fail.

Helfer, known to American audiences mostly for playing Number Six in "Battlestar Galactica," plays Molly Parker, also the name of another Canadian actress. Please, please, please, have Molly Parker guest star on this show. Please!

"Killer Women" is executive-produced by Sofía Vergara, so that show will definitely be on ABC at some point.

'Space Oddity' Chris Hadfield back on planet Earth

Chris Hadfield is back on planet Earth, but not before he charmed the world as commander of the International Space Station.

Hadfield's version of "Space Oddity" — the David Bowie classic — felt appropriate since Hadfield became the most visible astronaut since Sally Ride in an ever shrinking space presence.

Heck, just being able to hit the high notes on a song that is not easy to sing is impressive enough.

Previous coverage:

Chris Hadfield, Canada's cool astronaut, now leads International Space Station

Hadfield finished his time as commander of the International Space Station and returned to Earth.

While in charge, Hadfield performed the most experiments of any ISS commander. You might have seen his experiment of wringing out a hand towel to show how zero gravity affects the water molecules.

Then there was the emergency spacewalk to fix an ammonia leak.

Hadfield used his platform well when he was in space. The next chapter will show what Hadfield has in mind here on planet Earth.

Stanley Cup notebook: A rough start for Ottawa in Pittsburgh

The Ottawa Senators had more rest than any other Eastern Conference playoff team, but the Pittsburgh Penguins looked much more awake in Game 1.

The Sens were hurt by 2 power play goals and a short-handed goal in the 4-1 loss. Some of the penalties were questionable against Ottawa, some legit penalties came from being a bit slow, and others were missed that could have been called against Pittsburgh. The Penguins, though, did take advantage when opportunities were there.

The Senators really need to only win 1 of the first 2. They better be ready on Friday in Pittsburgh.

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Jason Spezza. If Ottawa can get him back at anywhere near his form, the Senators will gain some considerable momentum. The Sens can't count on that happening. Erik Karlsson got some regular season time before the playoffs. Going from 0 to playoffs is tough for anyone, even Spezza.

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Ottawa scored 6 goals twice against Carey Price in the 1st round. Pittsburgh switched goalies from Marc-Andre Fleury (Canadian) to Tomas Vokoun in the 1st round against the New York Islanders.

Vokoun isn't as good of a goalie as Carey Price, but in the playoffs, a hot goalie is better than a good goalie.

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The NBC Sports Network open wasn't completely in the hands of Root Sports Pittsburgh, but the coverage was pretty one-sided. Then again, the open was more balanced than the coverage after the 1st period, which was completely one-sided.

Jeremy Roenick did try to help the Senators after the 2nd period, even if Roenick's analysis was a bit off.

Dave Strader referred to Erik Karlsson's torn Achilles tendon as an "unfortunate accident" early in the game. Didn't even refer to Matt Cooke. Later Strader and Brian Engblom did mention Cooke's name. Somehow "unfortunate accident" still doesn't cut it.

The casual hockey fan NBC is desperate to attract doesn't know Matt Cooke's background and they aren't likely to find out during the telecasts.

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We got the anthems for Game 7 of the Leafs-Bruins on CNBC, but no anthems from Pittsburgh in Game 1 from the NBC Sports Network. Showing the anthems is a small price to pay; NBC can even sponsor the anthems if they are that worried about money. Or get some more successful sitcoms.

NBC hasn't shown an anthem from Ottawa since 2007; Ottawa's bilingual, but not as bilingual as Montréal's anthem, is entertaining in itself, especially to an American audience.

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As much as we think Canada is rooting for the Ottawa Senators, Atlantic Canada has plenty of Sidney Crosby fans. And Canada also has plenty of Jarome Iginla fans, inside and outside of Calgary.

As Don Cherry reminds us, Boston has a lot of Canadians on its roster.

While CanadianCrossing.com is normally about Canadians in U.S. situations, on the NHL ice, this is about the sweaters.

Ottawa Senators start Stanley Cup 2nd round in Pittsburgh

Update: NBC Sports Network has posted announcing pairings for the first 4 games of the Ottawa-Pittsburgh series. The one constant is Brian Engblom, who will do color analysis on all those games.

Dave Strader, Engblom's regular NBC partner, will call Game 1, Kenny Albert will make an appearance in Ottawa to call Game 4. We're stuck with Rick Peckham for Games 2 and 3.

Engblom also works in Canada in between the benches for TSN, so having him is a good sign. Strader is great by NBC standards. And having Albert will be a nice treat and glad he's doing one of the games in Ottawa.

Don't know much about Peckham except he did Game 1 in Boston and works for the Tampa Bay Lightning. I wasn't impressed; he came across as superficial and not terribly knowledgeable. Given that Ottawa will be in the Lightning's division starting next year, hopefully, he'll research the Senators in time to call the series.

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As many noted on Twitter last night, Ottawa is the last Canadian based team left in the Stanley Cup chase. The Senators have had a few days to rest, but now they have to prove themselves once again before a top seed, this time in Pittsburgh.

Ottawa and Pittsburgh have had a lot of recent playoff history. The Senators beat the Penguins on the way to the Stanley Cup final in 2007. Pittsburgh got revenge in 2008 and 2010.

The Penguins won all 3 meetings in the regular season.

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If Toronto had pulled it out, NBC would have been forced to do something the network finds unpleasant: broadcast a playoff game from Canada in the 2nd round.

Since the Leafs would have had home ice advantage, an Eastern series would have been in Canada for the next two weeks. Now NBC can steer away from Canada.

Ottawa plays at night in the first 5 games. All of the Senators games will air on the NBC Sports Network. As reluctant as NBC would be to show a team from Canada, Ottawa is not as "sexy" as Toronto.

The NHL gets more money and better ratings from the Canadian outlets, but Gary Bettman salivates over the NBC coverage. And the network has been hostile to showing playoff games in Canada.

At press time, we don't know which announcing team will work the series for the NBC Sports Group. NBC's top 2 crews will be in Boston, New York, Chicago, and Detroit. The best guess would be Joe Micheletti on color with either Rick Peckham or Kenny Albert on play-by-play for most of the games.

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The quandary in the playoffs is that NBC wants weekday afternoon games while the CBC wants Saturday night playoff games. NBC will experiment with some prime time games (after sweeps). Maybe the two parties can work out some common ground. The Toronto Maple Leafs, more than any other Canadian team, could have bridged that gap.

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The CBC gets to pick the first two series in the 2nd round. The Senators-Penguins series was the easy pick. The Leafs would have been the second pick. CBC ended up picking the Chicago-Detroit series.

Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, and Glenn Healy will follow the Sens, while Bob Cole, Kelly Hrudey, and Garry Galley will spend time along I-94. Southwestern Ontario, especially CBET/Windsor, and Southeastern Michigan will be thankful to have the Red Wings on the CBC.

TSN got the Bruins-Rangers series as well as the West Coast series — the Kings and the Sharks. Chris Cuthbert and Ray Ferraro will stay out west in California for the next couple of weeks while Gord Miller and Mike Johnson will hang out in the Northeast corridor.

Stanley Cup notebook: WTF Toronto Maple Leafs

Ways to look at what happened Monday night:
-- The Toronto Maple Leafs had more postseason wins (3) than the Montreal Canadiens (1) and Vancouver Canucks (0) combined.
-- The Maple Leafs had a 3-goal lead in the 3rd period and couldn't hold on to that lead. The Bruins scored twice in regulation with an empty net.
-- The referees weren't the reason why the Leafs lost, but their behavior is consistent with two themes in the last few years. The Bruins can do virtually no wrong and the NHL has a goal to prevent Canadian-based teams from doing well in the playoffs. Gary Bettman might be happy with where the NHL was after the lockout, but these themes are only some of the many reasons why he is the worst commissioner in the major sports.
-- The Leafs should have known that the Bruins would play rough, tough, and mean. They weren't as ready early on, and may have taken the situation too lightly after going up by 3 goals. You have to play 60 dirty minutes, and maybe even more than that.
-- Even if we argue that the Leafs got further than expected, this hurts and will hurt for some time.

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We weren't surprised to see Dave Strader and Brian Engblom doing the game on CNBC. NBC tried as hard as it could to let us have the CBC feed. But 2 Game 7 matchups forced its hand.

The good: they showed the anthems. Dave Strader mentioned the loss of Tyler Bozak around 14:46 remaining in the first period. The NBC Sports Network studio crew couldn't bring themselves to mentioning that during Game 6. Strader made a reference to how to pronounce Cody Franson's name and the differences between Canadian and American announcers.

Brian Engblom talked with Toronto Coach Randy Carlyle, something that CNBC refused to do in Game 1.

The bad: There was a bit too much of trying to equalize the brutality of the Bruins' behavior with Toronto's behavior. When Toronto had the lead and things were going well, we should have had crowd shots of Maple Leaf Square. But CNBC didn't take us there. If we were able to watch the CBC feed, we would have seen those crowd shots.

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Zdeno Chara body slammed James van Riemsdyk. Joffrey Lupul punched twice in the same play after being shoved into the net. A Chris Kelly elbow to van Riemsdyk's face. Milan Lucic boarding on Carl Gunnarson. These were some of the more prominent moments that the Bruins got away with in Game 7. Their style of beating people up and whining when they get touched is unique in that the refs let them get away with this behavior.

Yes, referees call fewer penalties in Game 7. But this wasn't hockey; this was a cage match. Milan Lucic complaining about his obvious roughing call on Dion Phaneuf with such force that he would have received 4 minutes instead of 2 if wearing a different sweater. Referees were handing out extra time throughout the season for far less.

Stanley Cup notebook: Toronto Maple Leafs force Game 7

Canadian viewers and those along the U.S. border can watch Game 7 on the CBC. Most U.S. viewers have also been getting the CBC feed, but Game 7 might snap that streak. Dave Strader and Brian Engblom, NBC's #2 crew, would do the game if the NBC Sports Group makes that call.

But there will be a Game 7, thanks to back-to-back 2-1 wins and the Leafs first home playoff win since 2004.

Dion Phaneuf tipped in the first goal and Phil Kessel had a great look to add a second goal, both in the 3rd period.

Game 7 will be in Boston tonight at 7 pm Eastern on CBC and CNBC.

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Tyler Bozak was a last-minute scratch, but you never would have known that if you just paid attention to the NBC Sports Network studio crew. This is NBC's top studio crew and the omission was huge. I joked on Twitter that this was the worst drinking game because you would be really thirsty if you waited for them to say "Tyler Bozak."

The CBC announcers kept mentioning that fact. Even the NHL Network made note of the loss. But the NBC people did tell us Andrew Ference was out for Boston.

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We report the bad from the NBC Sports Network crew, but we also have to report the good. They did do a nice segment on Jake Gardiner. Told the great story about how his agent used the hashtag #freeJakeGardiner to rescue him from the Marlies.

They also did a nice job of commenting on the huge crowd at Maple Leaf Square and intense crowd inside the Air Canada Centre. The visual of that outside crowd has done more for the perception of Toronto and hockey in the United States than anything else in the last few years.

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Coming back from break to start a period should be pretty easy. The NBC people showed us the wrong way to do it (before 2nd period) and the right way to do it (before 3rd period).

The 2nd period started during a U.S. commercial break and Liam McHugh talked on top of the late break to coverage. No harm to come back a little early rather than late.

NBC came back early before the 3rd period. So the U.S. audience got to hear CBC's Scott Oake report that the fans weren't booing the U.S. anthem. Turns out to be bad timing since Zdeno Chara's face was shown on the big screen. Booing Chara is acceptable behavior, but maybe not during the anthem.

Oake explained the behavior since CBC (and NESN) showed the anthems. The NBC Sports Network went out of its way to not show the anthems. Too bad. According to Twitter, the anthems were powerful from the Canadian soldier. Yes, we are thankful for the CBC feed, but that feed should have started a lot sooner.

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Even if this was a CBC sim sub, having the Toronto Maple Leafs on the NBC Sports Network is a big deal. This snapped a 14-month streak of not being on the U.S. cable channel. This was only the 4th Maple Leafs game on the NBC Sports Network in the 2010s.

I only started compiling Canadian teams appearances on U.S. television in the 2006-2007 season. Toronto used to be a higher priority of Versus. 2 appearances (2009-2010), 3 appearances (2008-2009), and 3 appearances (2007-2008) might not seem much, but is considerably more exposure compared to 3 appearances in the last 3 regular seasons combined.

The last time a Versus crew went to the Air Canada Centre was October 17, 2011 when Colorado was in town. The last Boston-Toronto game on Versus was on November 17, 2008, 13 days after Barack Obama was elected to his first term as President of the United States.

We know that Toronto will be on the NBC Network on January 1, 2014. The longer the Leafs run in the playoffs theoretically enhances their chances of being on the NBC Sports Network in 2013-2014.

Toronto Maple Leafs on NBCSN/Versus since 2006-2007
Date	Game
March 7, 2012	Toronto @ Pittsburgh*
October 17, 2011	Colorado at Toronto
March 2, 2011	Pittsburgh at Toronto
December 21, 2009	Buffalo at Toronto
November 30, 2009	Buffalo at Toronto
February 17, 2009	Buffalo @ Toronto
November 17, 2008	Boston @ Toronto
October 9, 2008	Toronto @ Detroit
November 20, 2007	Boston at Toronto
October 15, 2007	Toronto at Buffalo
October 9, 2007	Carolina at Toronto
January 1, 2007	Boston at Toronto
* NBC Sports Network. All other games on Versus.

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Even if we aren't getting the in-between analysis from the CBC, we can still get Coach's Corner via the Web. Click here for last night's edition. Don Cherry complemented the Toronto fans on how they have been celebrating their team.

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You don't usually hear about the weather conditions at a NHL game … unless you're in Boston in the spring. The CBC announcers noted several times about the quality of the ice at TD Garden. Hughson said the forecast for that day was sunny and 25°.

This is one of the signs you are Canadian when you say the temperature. Savvy hockey fans on the southern half of the border might know that 25 is actually warm. For the record 25° C is 77° F.

Boston is well-known for having a hot arena in spring, maybe being so close to the water doesn't help.

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Until last night, Elisha Cuthbert has had a bad week. Her fiancé, Dion Phaneuf, became a hated man in Toronto when his unsuccesful pinch led to a Game 4 OT loss at the Air Canada Centre. Cuthbert became part of the Internet lore when some thought she was giving a stink eye to April Reimer, wife of Leafs goalie James Reimer. Cuthbert also had her sitcom, "Happy Endings" cancelled by ABC.

USA Network might pick up "Happy Endings" (giving the show a happy ending). And Cuthbert and April Reimer came up with photos of how much they like each other.

Stanley Cup notebook: Game 6 goes back to Toronto

The Toronto Maple Leafs are still alive with a little momentum, scoring a 2-1 win in Boston Friday night. The Leafs have proven they can win in Boston, but they need to do something Sunday night that they haven't been able to do since April 30, 2004: win a playoff game on home ice.

Game 6 will be Sunday night at the Air Canada Centre. CBC will handle the telecast in Canada. The NBC Sports Network will carry the telecast if Pittsburgh wins Game 6 Saturday night; CNBC will show the game if the Penguins and Islanders need a Game 7.

If the Leafs are on CNBC and the Capitals/Rangers goes past approximately 7:30 pm Eastern, the game will start on the NHL Network.

If there is a Game 7, the Leafs should be starting at 7 pm regardless of what the Capitals/Rangers do. That Game 7 will likely start at 7:30 pm so the games can overlap a little.

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Whatever the NBC conflicts from now until the end of the first round, the only CBC series remaining is the Maple Leafs and Bruins. Chicago wrapped things up Thursday night, sending home Dean Brown and Greg Millen. And the Kings win on home ice will send Mark Lee and Kelly Hurdey back to Canada.

Brown will be involved with the 2nd round as part of the Ottawa broadcasting team. Millen could help out his day job if the Leafs advance, though Millen might work in between the benches with Bob Cole and Garry Galley in the 2nd round.

Kelly Hurdey might be back in Studio 42, but we'll have to wait and see. Mark Lee has plenty of other responsibilities at the CBC, so he'll be fine.

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TSN's only bad day is Sunday when the channel will potentially air 3 games. The Capitals/Rangers at 4:30 pm Eastern and Wings/Ducks at 10 pm Eastern. Add a possible Penguins/Islanders game and TSN's day could be solid hockey. The two primary crews will likely stay out east and have the lone Western series be a NBCSN simulcast.

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The CBC gets the first two picks in the 2nd round. Clearly, the CBC would take both Eastern Conference series if Toronto advances.

There is a slim possibility that the Battle of Ontario will be one-half of the Eastern Conference semifinal. For that to happen, Washington and the New York Islanders would have to win their series and the Leafs would defeat the Bruins.

The only possible Western Conference matchup that the CBC would take is Chicago-Detroit if that happens. Otherwise, TSN will handle everything west of Columbus.

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The consensus at this point is that U.S. viewers will still get the CBC feed for Game 6, though Don Cherry won't be on. If Pittsburgh beats the Islanders Saturday night, that crew could stay in New York to call the Rangers on Sunday. Likely, the NBC people will go ahead and assign a different crew just in case.

Stay tuned to the Twitter feed on Sunday to see if a NBC crew is assigned. I seriously doubt that will happen.

In a Game 7, all the rules go out the window. If the Leafs and Bruins are the only game left, NBC might feel compelled to send a crew to Boston for Monday night. But that seems really distant right now.

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Even in a CNBC in-between period, the NBC folks could figure out a way to run Coach's Corner even if it doesn't air live. Commercials dominate the time in between periods on the NBC telecasts, so that priority would change. You might recall that the NHL Network works to air the segment even when U.S. teams play on a Saturday night.

Eating poutine is better than drinking poutine

The latest tribute to poutine doesn't involve French fries, squeaky white Quebec cheese curds, and gravy.

Jones Soda is introducing a poutine soda in Quebec, Ontario, and Vancouver (but not British Columbia?). Jones, known for unusual soda flavors, is based in Seattle, so clearly they have made the trip up north for poutine.

The problem with poutine soda is that poutine is salty and soda is sweet.

Since the soda is only available in Canada, I can't try it. But if you live there, you can let us know. For more on a past trip to Montréal and how I found the perfect drink to have with poutine, check out this column from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

photo credit: Jones Soda