NBCSN shows the rematch of the opening round from last spring's Stanley Cup playoffs with the Winnipeg Jets in St. Paul on Thursday night. Would be appropriate if Gord Miller is driving to the game through a snowstorm at the last minute.
The NHL Network blows off Hockey Night in Canada and the pregame again but runs what should be a NBC Sports Philadelphia simulcast with the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon.
CBC starts out 2019 with the Vancouver Canucks traveling to Toronto for a 4 pm start in their home zone. The Edmonton Oilers have their sunglasses ready for the bright lights of LA in the nightcap.
Citytv welcomes P.K. Subban and his team back to Montréal.
Rogers Sportsnet has Hometown Hockey from Strathcona County, AB as the nearby Edmonton Oilers are in Orange County.
NBCSN
Thursday
Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 8p
NHL Network
Saturday
Calgary @ Philadelphia, 1p
Tape delayed
Thursday Colorado @ Calgary, 1p
ESPN+
Friday
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p
Saturday
Nashville @ Montréal, 7p
Sunday
Dallas @ Winnipeg, 5p
Monday
Nashville @ Toronto, 7p
Wednesday
Colorado @ Calgary, 9:30p
CBC
Saturday
Vancouver @ Toronto, 7p
Edmonton @ Los Angeles, 10p
Citytv
Saturday
Nashville @ Montréal, 7p
Rogers Sportsnet
Sunday
Edmonton @ Anaheim, 8p
Mosaic Stadium in Regina will host the Heritage Classic with the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames on October 26. The Jets will be the host team.
While Regina and Saskatchewan deserves an outdoor NHL game, we do wonder about a few things.
Why does the NHL insist on the Heritage Classic being dumped in October instead of a more ideal time such as December? We saw the Winnipeg Heritage Classic take place in October when December was the originally plan. The CFL season is done by December.
The game will be in the late part of the CFL season. The Roughriders play at home against Winnipeg on October 5 with road games in Calgary (October 11); BC (October 18); and Edmonton (October 26). The team plays at Mosaic Stadium November 2 against Edmonton.
So if the game is part of Hockey Night in Canada with a 7 pm Eastern start, the game would be opposite the Saskatchewan Roughriders. If there are going to be minor-league games on the outdoor ice in Regina, they have to be played very soon after since the field needs to be ready for football within a week.
The Jets and Flames have only played in a single outdoor game when they hosted the event in 2016 and 2011, respectively. The Montréal Canadiens are the only Canadian team that has not hosted an outdoor game of any kind.
Is #ESPN+ allergic to @hockeynight feeds? Thought the service was mostly home feeds but getting MSG+ instead.
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) December 30, 2018
One of the joys of paying for ESPN+ was getting Canadian feeds on games the NHL Network wasn't carrying. We have seen ESPN+ carry Hockey Night in Canada feeds during the Battle of Alberta but when given a choice, ESPN+ is going to extremes to not carry the Hockey Night in Canada feed when a U.S. team is involved.
The host argument is that usually the home feed is carried, which should have been the case in Toronto. Perhaps ESPN+ will carry the Montréal feed on Saturday; if not, the pattern will continue.
Even if Hockey Night in Canada is in the United States, the Canadian national feed should be the dominant choice.
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We know the 2020 All-Star Game will not be in Canada. Canadian cities have only hosted 3 All-Star Games in the 2000s with Toronto (2000), Montréal (2009), and Ottawa (2012).
While Toronto and Montréal have hosted quite a few All-Star Games, Ottawa (2012), Calgary (1985), and Edmonton (1989) have only hosted once. Vancouver (1977, 1998) has had a pair of All-Star Games. Winnipeg has never hosted the All-Star Game.
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The NHL Network blew off the Rogers pregame last week and this week. Sportsnet didn't post any video from the pregame show so Americans outside of the CBC range were out of luck. If we find video this week, we can pass that on. You can track the videos that Sportsnet does post.
CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage
Rick Ball worked a game in the East last weekend in the nation's capital. Ball had a cushion with no Canadian teams playing on Sunday.
We will look to see if the pattern continues with Rogers phasing out Bob Cole and keeping Dave Randorf out west most weeks.
We continue to push Mark Lee as the Calgary Flames backup play-by-play person so Ball can do more national games in the east or elsewhere.
Photo credit: NHL
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing
In regards to the Heritage Classic being played in October in Regina and Winnipeg... my guess would be the weather. December is awfully cold in the prairies to be doing anything outside. November is a challenge due to the unknowns of the CFL playoffs.
Posted by: Tyler | January 04, 2019 at 01:12 PM
I do get the idea of the weather. They had originally thought early December could work in Winnipeg. Playing in the daytime in December should be cold enough. Winnipeg played during the day in October and that seemed too warm. At least the Heritage Classic will be 5 days after the federal election.
Posted by: Chad | January 04, 2019 at 04:33 PM