NBCSN rises to the occasion in the final week. The channel will carry the Edmonton Oilers in Los Angeles Tuesday night. Like last year's Winnipeg game in Anaheim, this is more about getting the game on TV in Los Angeles. So look for the Rogers feed as the Oilers actually get on NBCSN. The channel also picks up the Ottawa Senators game in Boston on Thursday night. Since the game is blacked out in Boston, NBCSN can give us Canadian announcers through TSN5.
The NHL Network flipped on the Ottawa Senators at the last minute and will carry the Toronto Maple Leafs in Buffalo Monday night. So much for the temporary love affair with the playoff-bound Sens. This isn't as much of a coup since the game falls in the NHL Center Ice free preview.
CBC gives us the 401 series as the Toronto Maple Leafs play their final game at Joe Louis Arena Saturday night. A bonus for Red Wings fans in Windsor who don't even need cable to watch. The NHL Network picks up the telecast, the channel's first Maple Leafs game on HNIC since December 10. The Edmonton Oilers host Anaheim in the CBC nightcap.
City TV features the Montréal Canadiens way far south in Tampa Bay.
Rogers Sportsnet has an all-Canadian battle as the Ottawa Senators in Winnipeg.
Hometown Hockey from Guelph, ON has the Vancouver Canucks hosting San Jose Sunday night. Wednesday Night Hockey has the Montréal Canadiens in Buffalo.
Rogers Sportsnet One features a home-and-home with the Calgary Flames and Anaheim Ducks. The teams play in Calgary Sunday and travel to the U.S. for Tuesday. The channel also follows the Maple Leafs across the border to Buffalo Monday night.
Rogers Sportsnet 360 helps out on Friday as Vancouver hosts Los Angeles. The channel also has Calgary in the Flames' southern California road trip to Los Angeles Thursday night.
The NHL Network has a rare 3-game matinee set on Tuesday since all 3 Monday night games involve eastern Canadian teams.
The NHL Center Ice free preview starts Monday.
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NBCSN
Tuesday
Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
Thursday
Ottawa @ Boston, 7p
NHL Network
Saturday
Toronto @ Detroit, 7p
Monday
Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p
Tape delayed
Tuesday Toronto @ Buffalo, 1p
Montréal @ Florida, 2p
Ottawa @ Detroit, 3p
Wednesday Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 2p
Thursday Montréal @ Buffalo, 1p
CBC
Saturday
Toronto @ Detroit, 7p
Anaheim @ Edmonton, 10p
City
Saturday
Montréal @ Tampa Bay, 7p
Rogers Sportsnet
Saturday
Ottawa @ Winnipeg, 7p
Sunday
San Jose @ Vancouver, 7p
Wednesday
Montréal @ Buffalo, 7:30p
Rogers Sportsnet One
Sunday
Anaheim @ Calgary, 9:30p
Monday
Toronto @ Buffalo, 7p
Tuesday
Calgary @ Anaheim, 10p
Rogers Sportsnet 360
Friday
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p
Thursday
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
NHL Center Ice
Monday Ottawa @ Detroit, 7p
Montréal @ Florida, 7:30p
Tuesday Washington @ Toronto, 7:30p
Detroit @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 8p
Calgary @ Anaheim, 10p
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10:30p
Wednesday Montréal @ Buffalo, 7:30p
Thursday Winnipeg @ Columbus, 7p
Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7:30p
Vancouver @ Arizona, 10p
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
Edmonton @ San Jose, 10:30p
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We debuted our look at the playoff run for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. Click here to see our update.
Down the stretch for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs
The Ottawa Senators will play regular season games in Sweden next season. The Sens and Colorado Avalanche will play November 10 and 11 in Stockholm.
The NHL hasn't been to Europe since 2011. All the other times the league has played there in games that count have been at the beginning of the season. This time, the games will fall in November. That puts a lot more pressure on the teams participating, almost like a mini-Olympics break. The other regular season games have to be condensed. Colorado is rebuilding while the Senators are playoff contenders.
Colorado and Ottawa are good contenders to play in Sweden. Sens captain Erik Karlsson, 2-time Norris Trophy winner, and Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog are Swedish. The Senators also have the legacy of Daniel Alfredsson, who is Swedish.
The Vancouver Canucks split a 2-game series with the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1997. The Canucks won 3-2 on October 4 in Tokyo but lost 3-2 on October 5. The Calgary Flames went to Tokyo in 1998. The Flames tied the San Jose Sharks 3-3 on October 9 and downed the Sharks 5-3 on October 10.
The Ottawa Senators were in Sweden in 2008 for the Victoria Cup. The tournament was in several European countries, but the Senators only played in Sweden. The Senators defeated Frölunda Gothenburg 4-1 on October 2. The Swedish team featured Eric Karlsson, who had been drafted a few months earlier by the Senators. Ottawa lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on OT on October 4 before the Sens beat Pittsburgh 3-1 on October 5.
Vancouver Canucks and the Los Angeles Kings will be the first NHL teams in China, playing exhibition games this fall on September 21 in Shanghai and September 23 in Beijing.
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Many years ago, I was more into the NBA than the NHL. The referees bias for star players was legendary. While there were other factors as to why I lost interest in the NBA, ref bias didn't help. At least with those blown calls, players weren't getting seriously hurt.
Sidney Crosby didn't simply slash Ottawa defenseman Mark Methot; Crosby's slash did severe damage to Methot's pinky, likely knocking him out of the playoffs. Crosby, star among stars, didn't get penalized and won't receive a suspension. Now we know there won't be a suspension because Crosby is Crosby. The fact that Ottawa will suffer was also a factor (more on that in a moment).
We know slashes don't always get caught, but this Crosby slash was egregious. It's not even likely that the Pens and Sens will meet in the playoffs, but Crosby's damage has been done and will go unpunished.
In the last 2 weeks, Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames and Roman Polak of the Toronto Maple Leafs received 2-game suspensions. Tkachuk elbowed star defenseman Drew Doughty and Polak boarded Columbus' Oliver Bjorkstrand. Tkachuk's play was a cheap shot but Doughty came back later that game. Tkachuk was not penalized for the play but did end up in the penalty box when an LA player retaliated for the hit. Polak's play didn't look that bad, but Polak was penalized for boarding and game misconduct.
I'm willing to go along on the 2-game suspensions based on what happened on the ice. But how does Crosby not get something for doing way more damage than either Tkachuk or Polak?
On February 13, 2013, Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke, a textbook example of a known offender, lacerated Erik Karlsson's Achilles tendon with Cooke's skate. Cooke, who has known suspensions for numerous cheap shots, received no suspension. The U.S. media played the "he's changed" theme to justify Cooke's actions. That tone changed on April 21, 2014, when Cooke, then with Minnesota, delivered a knee-on-knee check to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie in the playoffs. Barrie was out for weeks. Cooke was suspended for 7 games. Suddenly, Cooke was a horrible person once again, just not against Ottawa.
Karlsson has the talent of a star player but doesn't receive the protection of the NHL because he plays for Ottawa in Canada. While what Crosby did to Methot was horrible, that wasn't Crosby's only unpunished action that week.
If I ever give up this beat, and that is tempting in moments such as these, I will not miss this hypocrisy. The NBA is still pretty horrible but at least, the players can play most of the time after a non-call foul.
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Rogers has been generally good about not using local crews for all-Canadian matchups. Sunday, Rogers broke that streak by using the Vancouver crew for the Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. The argument was that the crew was in Minnesota on Saturday. Rick Ball and Greg Millen were in St. Louis on Saturday and could have made the quick trip.
The consensus is that when playing a U.S. team, the local crew can handle that assignment. There are very few all-Canadian matchups on a national game that isn't on Hockey Night in Canada. Rogers wants respect theoretically with the cheapest approach. The financial difference can't be that big, especially when you are the only national broadcaster. People are willing to look the other way on many cheap moves. Rogers could buy some respect for not that much money.
Rogers blew off the Winnipeg Jets during the pregame a while back when the Jets hosted Calgary. Some things are more important than money, but Rogers doesn't understand that concept.
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Gord Miller will work with NBC's #1 crew with Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire in Chicago on Sunday on NBC. We should see more of Miller possibly with Ray Ferraro next weekend on the U.S. side.