Buffalo Sabres fans can watch their team on the CBC on Saturday night, though the feed would likely be blacked out on cable. The two teams had an ugly streak during the pre-season, and we may see some of that fire, especially from the Sabres side.
The NHL Network audience won't get that viewing option since the U.S. cable channel goes for the Original 6 matchup of the New York Rangers in Montréal. The two teams played on NBCSN 19 days ago.
CBC carries the Battle of Alberta for the first time in the nightcap. Unlike last week where both games were on U.S. soil, all three games this week are in Canada.
TSN spreads out its schedule with an Edmonton home game on Friday and an Ottawa home game on Wednesday.
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NHL Network
Saturday
NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p (CBC simulcast)Tape delayed
Friday San Jose @ Vancouver, 3p (1-hour)
Wednesday NY Islanders @ Toronto, 1p (1-hour)
Ottawa @ Philadelphia, 3p (1-hour)
Minnesota @ Montréal, 4p (1-hour)
CBC
Saturday
Buffalo @ Toronto, 7p (National except Quebec)
NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p (Quebec)
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p
TSN
Friday
San Jose @ Edmonton, 10p
Wednesday
Minnesota @ Ottawa, 7:30p
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Ended up seeing way more films on Saturday night, so I caught very little of Hockey Night in Canada. I watched the 3rd period of the late game with some poutine. I stayed up for "After Hours" and a little bit of the Toronto-Boston replay.
After watching 4 films in a row, and 5 overall, the small screen was just what I needed. This felt good, even if the Canucks were having a bad night.
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Speaking of "After Hours," you might think having Kevin Connolly was an odd guest. Sure the program was in Los Angeles, so celebrties often appear on the program. Connolly is American, but he did direct a documentary on John Spano, who tried to buy the New York Islanders under shady financial circumstances.
The telecast showed Connolly in the stands during the Canucks-Kings game, and the actor certainly showed his love for hockey and Kelly Hrudey in the interview. Drew Doughty, Canadian and actual hockey player, was the other guest.
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No, it wasn't your imagination. CBC blew off the "Hot Stove" segment. Ron MacLean interviewed three of the new members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. They kept Glenn Healy behind at Studio 42 rather than place him in Boston.
CBC is getting Garry Galley more time between the benches, as we saw Saturday night. The pattern is that when the Leafs are on the road, CBC wants Glenn Healy in the studio. Galley had a busy week as he was up in the booth for the Thursday night telecast. His regular partner, Bob Cole, had a quiet week back in Newfoundland.
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The Philadelphia Flyers have had a rough season so far. Then again, the Edmonton Oilers have a worse record than Philadelphia.
The NHL Network's only live Oilers game wasn't the best matchup, though the game turned out 4-2 in favor of the home team. U.S. TV is really stubborn over not showing the Alberta teams on home ice, and one road telecast a year for the Oilers puts a lot of pressure to show off the team well.
Of course, the Comcast Philadelphia signal was used, because of synergy, and the NHL Network may not even know Rogers Sportsnet West even exists.
On paper, this was a game the Oilers could have won. Sigh.
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The NHL Network actually showed the TSN feed for the Toronto-Minnesota game. Chris Cuthbert and Mike Johnson called the game from St. Paul.
One habit the NHL Network has to stop doing is editing out controversial content from the game. Nazem Kadri collided with Wild goalie Nicholas Backstrom in the 1st period, knocking Backstrom out of the game. But those who watched the rebroadcast never saw the collision.
This is not the first time the NHL Network has done this. Censorship destroys credibility.
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The NHL has moved the outdoor game in Chicago on March 1 from afternoon to evening. NBC will carry the game. Opposite the game will now be Toronto-Montréal and Calgary-Edmonton as the CBC Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader.
Conditions would have been plenty cold during the day in the Windy City; at nighttime, the crowd and players should be plenty cold at Soldier Field.
Right now, there is no Canadian TV outlet for the game. CBC has exclusivity on Saturday night and won't move the games already scheduled. You get the impression that the NHL doesn't factor Canada into these decisions.
The mess that was the coverage of the 2011 Winter Classic was not intentional as the game moved from day to night at the last minute.
The NHL Network wasn't planning to carry the CBC simulcasts anyway. Now, the U.S. channel won't have that option.
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Finally got a chance to catch the new 1-hour condensed versions of NHL games on the NHL Network. You clearly have lost any semblance of a whole game, but you do get a sense of how the game went. You also get 2 games in the space of 1 game in the new format.
The condensed versions are longer than the 10-minute versions provided on NHL GameCenter Live. Of course, depending on the game, 10 minutes is more time than you need.
Let me know what you like or dislike about the new condensed versions. We will continue to provide a schedule of all rebroadcasts involving Canadian teams on the NHL Network.
Regarding Glenn Healy - the times Galley has taken his spot between the benches were for games the Leafs played south of the border (in Chicago and Boston). He was between the benches when the Leafs visited Vancouver and I think he was at ice level in Montreal too. So, that's kinda interesting. I'm a Galley fan, so no complaints from me!
Also: great commentary regarding NHL Network editing...
Posted by: Tyler | November 18, 2013 at 03:46 PM
That is an amusing pattern. Let's see if that holds. I like Galley in between the benches. Gives him more options to be on the air.
And thanks for the kind words on the NHL Network editing.
Posted by: Chad | November 18, 2013 at 04:46 PM