The NHL Network live game coverage usually takes a nosedive in the second half of the year. This year was bad in a history of not good. You could argue that the Canadian teams were so bad, so therefore the coverage was reduced.
This year, the NHL Network would release the next month's schedule very late in the month. For March, the release was much more short-term. The good news was we didn't get cancellations that plagued the NHL Network schedule in past years. The bad news was not getting a lot of games, especially in the second half.
The Hockey Night in Canada early games have been a decent mainstay, but the second half produced crickets. Here is the complete list of NHL Network telecasts.
October 10 Montréal @ Boston 7p
October 11 Montréal @ Ottawa 7p
October 17 Detroit @ Montréal 7p
October 23 Montréal @ Buffalo 7p
October 25 Calgary @ NY Rangers 7p
October 31 Pittsburgh @ Toronto 7p
November 1 Winnipeg @ Montréal, 7p
November 7 Boston @ Montréal, 7p
November 8 Edmonton @ Chicago, 8p
November 15 Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
November 21 Toronto @ Boston, 7p
November 22 NY Islanders @ Montréal, 7p
November 24 Ottawa @ Dallas, 8:30p
November 27 Vancouver @ Dallas, 8:30p
November 28 Washington @ Toronto, 7p
December 13 Vancouver @ Chicago, 7p
December 19 Montréal @ Dallas, 7p
December 26 Montréal @ Washington, 7p
December 31 Los Angeles @ Calgary, 9p
January 3 Ottawa @ Chicago, 7p
January 9 Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p
January 15 Chicago @ Toronto, 7p
January 16 Montréal @ St. Louis, 7p
January 23 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
February 15 Toronto @ Chicago, 8:30p
February 19 Philadelphia @ Montréal, 7:30p
March 10 Winnipeg @ Detroit, 7:30p
March 18 Chicago @ Winnipeg, 8p
March 24 Montréal @ Detroit, 7:30p
March 26 NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p
April 2 Detroit @ Toronto, 7p
April 5 Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10p
Hockey Night in Canada
The Canadiens were on Hockey Night in Canada 9 times on the NHL Network. Toronto had 5 telecasts with the two teams sharing the January 23 telecast. There were 13 HNIC games on U.S. television; no other Canadian teams appeared on the telecasts.
October 10 Montréal @ Boston 7p
October 17 Detroit @ Montréal 7p
October 31 Pittsburgh @ Toronto 7p
November 7 Boston @ Montréal, 7p
November 21 Toronto @ Boston, 7p
November 28 Washington @ Toronto, 7p
December 19 Montréal @ Dallas, 7p
December 26 Montréal @ Washington, 7p
January 9 Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p
January 16 Montréal @ St. Louis, 7p
January 23 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
March 26 NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p
April 2 Detroit @ Toronto, 7p
Hometown Hockey
The Hometown Hockey list was even shorter with 8 telecasts and 0 after January 3. Of the 8 games, the Canadiens had 3 games and Ottawa had 2 games. The other 5 teams had a single appearance on Hometown Hockey in the U.S. There were a pair of all-Canadian matchups with Montréal @ Ottawa on the opening weekend and Winnipeg @ Montréal on November 1. Not that this is the NHL Network's issue, but your humble narrator only saw 5 of the 8 telecasts due to local blackout.
October 11 Montréal @ Ottawa 7p
October 25 Calgary @ NY Rangers 7p
November 1 Winnipeg @ Montréal, 7p
November 8 Edmonton @ Chicago, 8p
November 15 Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
November 22 NY Islanders @ Montréal, 7p
December 13 Vancouver @ Chicago, 7p
January 3 Ottawa @ Chicago, 7p
Montréal Canadiens
The Montréal Canadiens dominated the listings for Canadian teams. The Canadiens had 15 telecasts, 12 of them on national games on Saturday and Sunday. The weekday games featured an early season game in Buffalo (October 23) and 2 late-season contests hosting Philadelphia (February 19) and at Detroit (March 24). The NHL Network carried 7 games from the Bell Centre.
October 10 Montréal @ Boston 7p
October 11 Montréal @ Ottawa 7p
October 17 Detroit @ Montréal 7p
October 23 Montréal @ Buffalo 7p
November 1 Winnipeg @ Montréal, 7p
November 7 Boston @ Montréal, 7p
November 22 NY Islanders @ Montréal, 7p
December 19 Montréal @ Dallas, 7p
December 26 Montréal @ Washington, 7p
January 9 Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p
January 16 Montréal @ St. Louis, 7p
January 23 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
February 19 Philadelphia @ Montréal, 7:30p
March 24 Montréal @ Detroit, 7:30p
March 26 NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs weren't good this year and that reflected in the lack of coverage. The Leafs only had 8 appearances on the NHL Network; 6 of them on national games on Saturday and Sunday. The team was on HNIC 5 times with a single appearance on Hometown Hockey. 4 of the 8 games came from the Air Canada Centre. 2 of the 3 true winter appearances — December-March — were with Chicago, both blacked out for your humble narrator.
October 31 Pittsburgh @ Toronto 7p
November 15 Toronto @ NY Rangers, 7p
November 21 Toronto @ Boston, 7p
November 28 Washington @ Toronto, 7p
January 15 Chicago @ Toronto, 7p
January 23 Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
February 15 Toronto @ Chicago, 8:30p
April 2 Detroit @ Toronto, 7p
And the rest
The other 5 teams combined for 12 telecasts. They were shut out of NBCSN this season so the NHL Network was the only option. 6 of the 12 telecasts were on Hometown Hockey with 2 of those against the Canadiens. Other than the 2 all-Canadian Hometown Hockey games, only 2 other games aired on Canadian soil: the Winnipeg Jets hosted Chicago on March 18 and the now famous New Year's Eve where a Calgary Flames home game was actually aired. 4 of the 12 games was blacked out for your humble narrator.
- Winnipeg Jets (4 games): Hometown Hockey @ Montréal (November 1), @ Detroit (March 10), home to Chicago (March 18), and @ Anaheim (April 5).
- Ottawa Senators (3 games): Outside the first Hometown Hockey game where the Senators hosted the Canadiens, Ottawa had road games @ Dallas (November 24) and @ Chicago (January 3).
- Vancouver Canucks (2 games): No home games, but like Ottawa, road games @ Dallas (November 27) and @ Chicago (December 13).
- Calgary Flames (2 games): Hometown Hockey @ NY Rangers (October 25) and an extremely rare home game against Los Angeles (December 31).
- Edmonton Oilers (1 game): Hometown Hockey @ Chicago (November 8).
NBCSN
In the original schedule, NBCSN had 5 Montréal games with single games for Edmonton and Toronto. 3 of the 5 Canadiens games were NBCSN productions with 2 local productions, both after the Winter Classic. And of course, NBCSN cancelled the Edmonton telecast on March 1 due to a forced and sudden schedule conflict. Only 2 of the games aired on Canadian soil, both in Montréal.
November 11 Montréal @ Pittsburgh 7:30p
December 9 Boston @ Montréal 7:30p
December 22 Montréal @ Minnesota 8p
January 5 Montréal @ Philadelphia 7:30p
January 14 Chicago @ Montréal 7:30p
March 13 Toronto @ Detroit 7:30p
The Montréal Canadiens became the second Canadian team to be on New Year's Day on NBC with the 2016 Winter Classic.
Comments