Canadian Crossing

NHL the month in preview October 2019

Bienvenue and welcome to the debut of the new format for tracking Canadian NHL teams on U.S. TV and streaming. We ran a resource guide yesterday that will help you follow our new approach to NHL coverage.

Rogers Sportsnet starts out the season tonight with the Battle of Ontario followed by Vancouver traveling to Edmonton in the nightcap.

The highlight of the month is the Heritage Classic from Mosaic Stadium in Regina. We will have special coverage of that event in and around the game. NBCSN will carry that game in the United States.

Someone at the NHL really got through to NBC Universal since we have a Vancouver Canucks home game on NBCSN. The channel has had an unofficial ban on the team for years now. They might have to get their 2011 maps and find Vancouver. The channel runs its first ever Saturday doubleheader with the Heritage Classic in Regina, apparently losing a coin flip with the NHL Network. NBCSN also has home dates in Montréal and Edmonton. Tremendous progress from a channel that has been afraid to show games in Canada.

The NHL Network is off to its usual fast start for Canadian teams. Seeing Winnipeg sounds great but with key missing players still needing to get up to speed, the Jets won't be as much fun to watch. Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor were very late signings. 5 of the 7 Canadian teams are on the channel this month, all but Vancouver and Ottawa. The Alberta teams are on the road, continuing a pattern.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

What we missed during the 2019 NHL offseason

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

The Canadian coverage takes a slight detour with the World Series with Rogers Sportsnet carrying MLB playoffs and Rogers Sportsnet One taking most of the Hometown Hockey games.

We have a NHL Center Ice free preview schedule covering the first 7 days. We are leaving NHL Network telecasts in the preview for those who care about the local feeds and commercials. Those telecasts should have a significant number of political ads heading toward the October 21 federal election. You have been warned.

NBCSN

October 9
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p
October 15
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7p
October 16
Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 9:30p
October 26
Calgary @ Winnipeg, 10p

NHL Network

October 4
Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7p
October 5
Montréal @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
October 6
Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p (HH)
October 7
St. Louis @ Toronto, 7p
October 12
St. Louis @ Montréal, 7p (HNIC)
October 13
Pittsburgh @ Winnipeg, 7p (HH)
October 14
Edmonton @ Chicago, 8:30p
October 19
Boston @ Toronto, 7p (HNIC)
October 31
Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

ESPN+

October 2
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
October 3
Winnipeg @ NY Rangers, 7p
October 10
Edmonton @ New Jersey, 7p
October 13
Calgary @ San Jose, 10p
October 15
Philadelphia @ Calgary, 9p
October 17
Ottawa @ Las Vegas, 10p
October 19
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10p (HNIC)
October 20
Montréal @ Minnesota, 5p/Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7p (HH)
October 21
Columbus @ Toronto, 7p
October 22
Toronto @ Boston, 7p
October 25
Washington @ Vancouver, 10p
October 27
San Jose @ Ottawa, 7p (HH)
October 28
Florida @ Vancouver, 10p
October 29
Winnipeg @ Anaheim, 10p
October 30
Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10:30p
October 31
Montréal @ Las Vegas, 10p

Hockey Night in Canada

October 5

Montréal @ Toronto, 7p/NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 7p
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p/Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p

October 12

Toronto @ Detroit, 7p/St. Louis @ Montréal, 7p/Winnipeg @ Chicago, 7p
Calgary @ Las Vegas, 10p/Philadelphia @ Vancouver, 10p

October 19

Boston @ Toronto, 7p/Ottawa @ Arizona, 7p
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10p

October 26

Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Calgary @ Winnipeg, 10p

Hometown Hockey

October 6 Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p (Halton Hills, ON)

October 13 Pittsburgh @ Winnipeg, 7p (Halifax, NS)

October 20 Edmonton @ Winnipeg, 7p (St. John's, NL)

October 27 San Jose @ Ottawa, 7p (Fredericton, NB)

Rogers Sportsnet national telecasts

October 2 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p/Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p

October 9 Montréal @ Buffalo, 7p

October 10 Calgary @ Dallas, 8:30p

October 12 Edmonton @ NY Rangers, 1p

October 13 Calgary @ San Jose, 10p

October 14 Edmonton @ Chicago, 8:30p

October 15 Philadelphia @ Calgary, 9p/Detroit @ Vancouver, 10p

October 16 Toronto @ Washington, 7p/Philadelphia @ Edmonton, 9:30p

October 17 Vancouver @ St. Louis, 8p/Detroit @ Calgary, 9p

October 18 Detroit @ Edmonton, 9p

October 19 Vancouver @ New Jersey, 1p

October 20 Vancouver @ NY Rangers, 1p/Calgary @ Anaheim, 9p

October 21 Columbus @ Toronto, 7p

October 22 Vancouver @ Detroit, 7:30p

October 23 Detroit @ Ottawa, 7:30p

October 24 Washington @ Edmonton, 9p

October 25 San Jose @ Toronto, 7p/Washington @ Vancouver, 10p

October 29 Edmonton @ Detroit, 7:30p

October 30 Edmonton @ Columbus, 7:30p/Vancouver @ Los Angeles, 10:30p

October 31 Calgary @ Nashville, 8p

NHL Center Ice free preview

Wednesday Ottawa @ Toronto, 7p
Vancouver @ Edmonton, 10p
Thursday Winnipeg @ NY Rangers, 7p
Montréal @ Carolina, 7p
Calgary @ Colorado, 9p
Friday Winnipeg @ New Jersey, 7p
Toronto @ Columbus, 7p
Saturday Montréal @ Toronto, 7p
NY Rangers @ Ottawa, 7p
Vancouver @ Calgary, 10p
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 10p
Sunday Winnipeg @ NY Islanders, 7p
Monday St. Louis @ Toronto, 7p
Tuesday Edmonton @ NY Islanders, 7p
Winnipeg @ Pittsburgh, 7p
Los Angeles @ Calgary, 9p

In our quest to highlight NHL games carried on an over-the-air station, the October 22 Vancouver at Detroit game is scheduled to run on CKVU (Channel 10), the Citytv station in Vancouver. The game starts at 4:30 pm local time so the American shows on Citytv won't be affected.

Our guide to the NHL Canadian teams coverage

Bienvenue and welcome to the new format for tracking Canadian NHL teams on U.S. TV and streaming. We are now covering the NHL on a monthly basis as opposed to a weekly basis. We went into some detail last week. These columns will run at or before the first of the month.

Here are some tools that will make excellent resources. Bookmark this page so you can refer back here. We will post a link to this page with every monthly update.

NBC Sports Press Box — You can track the announcers for NBC and NBCSN games. You will find this useful on the rare nights when Canadian teams are covered by NBC Universal. This is a good resource for finding out when Chris Cuthbert, Gord Miller, and Ray Ferraro are working for NBC Universal, even in all-American matchups.

NHL Network schedules — We are no longer tracking NHL Network matinee rebroadcasts. The NHL Network TV schedule page is timid at best but should have a matinee rebroadcast schedule. Every so often, the U.S. channel will have condensed versions of games late at night. The NHL Network live game schedule lists alternate games when they actually exist. The monthly updates will note when the telecast is from Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) or Hometown Hockey (HH).

Rogers Sportsnet schedule — The Rogers Sportsnet schedule is subject to change and often doesn't list games for Citytv. Hockey Night in Canada runs primarily on CBC, Citytv, and the regional Rogers Sportsnet channels (East, Ontario, West, Pacific). Occasionally, Rogers Sportsnet will split its regional feeds. Rogers Sportsnet One and Rogers Sportsnet 360 help out on national telecasts throughout the week.

CBC generally draws the most national of feeds early and late on Saturday nights. The Toronto Maple Leafs almost certainly will be on CBC. Citytv usually has an early game — the third-best game behind CBC and Rogers Sportsnet. The Rogers-owned network will show late games, mostly to its Western affiliates in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. Some Americans can get CBC; fewer Americans have access to a Citytv feed.

Hometown Hockey airs on Rogers Sportsnet with help from Rogers Sportsnet One during the World Series. Our monthly schedules will list the site for each episode of Hometown Hockey.

TSN Twitter feeds — You can track the Twitter feeds for TSN employees moonlighting for NBC Universal, specifically Chris Cuthbert, Gord Miller, and Ray Ferraro. Ferraro is not on NBC Universal as frequently as Cuthbert and Miller. The feeds are also helpful to find out where your favourite announcers are on the TSN telecasts.

Cuthbert and Miller split all the non-national Ottawa Senators games and the TSN portion of non-national Toronto Maple Leafs games. Ferraro works mostly Maple Leafs games, a rare Senators game, and some Winnipeg Jets games.

ESPN+ is a subscription service. This is helpful especially if you already get the service for MLB, CFL, MLS, and other sports.

We saw doubleheaders on Thursday and Saturday last year. They usually carry the home feed, even with Hockey Night in Canada and Hometown Hockey games.

Games are subject to local blackout similar to the NHL Network. Doubleheaders are separate feeds so missing action isn't a concern. The games are also available to watch on a delayed basis.

What we missed during the 2019 NHL offseason

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Let us know in the comments section if there is some way to improve this page.

logo credits: their parent companies

2019 Stanley Cup notebook: Toronto is the last Canadian team to leave the playoffs

The 3 Canadian teams were eliminated in progressive lengths with Calgary going in 5, Winnipeg falling in 6, and Toronto tripping in 7. The Flames and Jets staggered through their series with a combined 1 win on home ice. Toronto succumbed more to the juggernaut that is Boston and the referees allowing just about everything to give Boston a huge, undeserved advantage.

The less said about the Nazem Kadri suspension, the better. The NHL shows its bias against Canadian teams. Matt Cooke is a horrible goon, except when he severely injures a player on a Canadian team (Erik Karlsson — Ottawa). Zdeno Chara slammed Max Pacioretty's head into a stanchion, likely with intent and no suspension. Nazem Kadri in a Philadelphia, Boston, or New York Rangers uniform might have had a 1-game suspension. Since Kadri plays for Toronto, the suspension is deeper.

If the National Hockey League is sincerely upset about what is going on, and it isn't, then more honourable officiating would have prevented either Kadri incident. Boston shouldn't keep getting preferential treatment on and off the ice.

Calgary has only won a single playoff series since the 2004 Stanley Cup final. Vancouver Canucks fans will remember that well from the spring of 2015. This was a really good year to snap that streak. The Flames acclaimed ability to score in the 3rd period and overtime disappeared as did James Neal. The officiating was particularly bad in this series. The Flames have lost 12 of the last 14 NHL playoff games.

Winnipeg had 1 shot in the 2nd period of a critical Game 6. The Jets basically gave up in the 3rd period of Game 5. Maybe the team would have fared as poorly against the Dallas Stars, but not playing well down the stretch gave them a very hot St. Louis club.

We have teased about the Toronto Raptors being good at losing Game 1 in a playoff series (only 1 Game 1 win in franchise history). The Toronto Maple Leafs did win Game 1 of its series, the first such Game 1 win since 2003.

Toronto was the last Canadian team in the NHL playoffs, something that hasn't happened since 2002.

2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview

Having Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro in the first round for the Calgary and Winnipeg first round series coverage made a tremendous difference. This was especially true compared to who NBCU sent to the Toronto series.

Ferraro made a reference to Two Hills, Alberta and noted that Miller is from Alberta (Edmonton). Ferraro told the story about being in Calgary with Ottawa in town, watching the Tkachuk brothers (Matthew-Calgary; Brady-Ottawa) barking at each other like they were in their family basement. These small bits of colour help playoff coverage. Most NBCU on-air employees know little about the Jets and Flames.

Miller and Ferraro were on site in Canada for the Calgary and Winnipeg first-round series coverage. You didn't see them on screen since NBCU was using the Rogers feeds. Ferraro wasn't at ice level in either series, diminishing the NBCU coverage. We finally saw visual proof of their existence at Game 4 in Denver.

The 8 games in 9 days for Miller and Ferraro went like this: Calgary-Winnipeg-Calgary-day off-Denver-St. Louis-Denver-Winnipeg-Calgary.

Chris Cuthbert (and Joe Micheletti) covered the Dallas-Nashville series as well as Game 3 of the Winnipeg series. Dave Randorf and Louie DeBrusk (via Rogers Sportsnet) covered Game 1 of the Winnipeg series via the NHL Network.

NBCU gave Miller a day off for Game 6 of the Jets series but kept Ferraro on colour analysis with Brendan Burke. In a twist, Miller and Ferraro reunited for Game 7 in San Jose.

Cuthbert will work a series for NBCSN in the 2nd round. Miller and Ferraro will cover the World Championship for TSN.

As for the Toronto crew, Mike Milbury and his one-sided biased coverage was unprofessional. A Boston cheerleader and the loss of Eddie Olczyk damaged what little credibility NBCU has in covering the sport. Brian Boucher continues to be confused at crucial moments. Despite getting more work this season, Boucher may be getting worse in that role.

Milbury and Boucher in the studio would be much more effective. Boucher has time to work on his material and Milbury's smart-ass approach comes across better. That said, Olczyk has proven to also be effective in the studio as well as colour analysis. Mike Tirico could teach Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen how to be more human in the studio. Tirico has also done well in the booth, an asset the NBCU coverage desperately needs.

Doc Emrick called all the games in the Toronto series, except for Game 4 when Kenny Albert filled in for Emrick. Games 2 and 6 were on NBC.

The NHL Network used to be more generous in showing Canadian feeds in the matinee rebroadcasts. The only Canadian feed we've seen was Game 2 of the Winnipeg series with the Rogers Sportsnet feed. We saw 0 matinee rebroadcasts of the Calgary series with any feed.

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

John Bartlett, Garry Galley, and Christine Simpson only got to work 4 games in the first round with the New York Islanders sweep of Pittsburgh. CBC gravitated to the Winnipeg series to fill the gap with Games 3 and 5-6 instead of another Eastern series.

The CBC also carried all the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames games. Rogers didn't produce a single all-U.S. game for its Sportsnet channels.

You can see the 2nd round coverage for CBC and Rogers Sportsnet.

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AJ Mleczko worked quite a few playoff games, especially with Cuthbert and Micheletti in the Nashville-Dallas series. Cassie Campbell-Pascall provided colour analysis in the Calgary series for CBC.

The local New York Islanders MSG coverage featured Mleczko, Shannon Hogan, and Jennifer Botterill, including an all-female studio show with all 3 of them for Game 4.

The Winnipeg Whiteout outside Bell MTS Place was not just about large crowds. The Winnipeg Jets Foundation charged $5 to get into the space with the proceeds going to the United Way for mental health, homelessness, and addiction support.

Their numbers were 8,500 for Game 1 and 11,500 Game 2, raising $114,000 for the first 2 games. Those numbers average more than $5 per person so they were extra generous. Miller and Ferraro estimated the Game 5 outdoor crowd at 11,000. 

Canadian ads from spring 2019 NHL Center Ice free preview

Gord Miller mentioned on CNBC that Patrik Laine's 5-goal game against St. Louis early in the season led to a $1,000,000 prize for Winnipeg minister Chris Haley in a grocery store promotion. Miller didn't identify the grocery store chain, which was Sobey's/Safeway.

Miller is a spokesperson for Sobey's/Safeway. He does the voiceover for the ad about the food platters and is on camera for the latest shop-and-win contest with Cassie Campbell-Pascall.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Anthems are pretty low on NBCU's list in the regular season. Out west, we only saw the Game 1 anthem from Calgary and none with Winnipeg. Some of the games have had full pre-game coverage but still no anthems. The Toronto series had anthems in every game but Games 2.

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The Ottawa Senators 1st round pick fell from the top spot to the 4 spot. If the Senators controlled that pick, we would be furious. Colorado got that pick in the Matt Duchene deal. The Edmonton Oilers fell to the 8 spot; Vancouver Canucks is at the 10 spot; and the Montréal Canadiens at 15, the worst spot for non-playoff teams.

The lottery only applies to the first round. Ottawa has the top pick in round 2.

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As we noted during the Alberta election coverage, CBC stations in Edmonton and Calgary picked news over the NY Islanders/Pittsburgh Game 4. CBC in Charlottetown carried the Prince Edward Island election coverage before switching to Game 7 with the Maple Leafs Tuesday night. NHL fans did have Rogers Sportsnet as an option for Game 7 besides streaming through cbcsports.ca or securing another CBC affiliate.

photos credit: NHL/NBC; Citytv Calgary; NHL/CNBC/CBC

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Eastern Conference

(3) Toronto vs. (2) Boston Boston wins series 4-3
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
April 11	Toronto 4, Boston 1	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 13	Boston 4, Toronto 1	8p	NBC	CBC
April 15	Toronto 3, Boston 2	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 17	Boston 6, Toronto 4	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 19	Toronto 2, Boston 1	7p	NBCSN	CBC
April 21	Boston 4, Toronto 2	3p	NBC	CBC
April 23	Boston 5, Toronto 1	7p	NBCSN	CBC

 

2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

 

Western Conference

(2) Winnipeg vs. (3) St. Louis St. Louis wins series 4-2
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
April 10	St. Louis 2, Winnipeg 1	8p	NHLN	Sportsnet
April 12	St. Louis 4, Winnipeg 3	9:30p	CNBC	Sportsnet
April 14	Winnipeg 6, St. Louis 3	7:30p	CNBC	CBC
April 16	Winnipeg 2, St. Louis 1 (OT)	9:30p	CNBC	Sportsnet
April 18	St. Louis 3, Winnipeg 2	8:30p	USA	CBC
April 20	St. Louis 3, Winnipeg 2	7p	NBCSN	CBC

 

(1) Calgary vs. (4) Colorado Colorado wins series 4-1
Date	Matchup	Time	U.S. TV	Cdn TV
April 11	Calgary 4, Colorado 0	10p	NBCSN	CBC
April 13	Colorado 3, Calgary 2 (OT)	10:30p	NBCSN	CBC
April 15	Colorado 6, Calgary 2	10p	CNBC	CBC
April 17	Colorado 3, Calgary 2 (OT)	10p	NBCSN	CBC
April 19	Colorado 5, Calgary 1	10p	NBCSN	CBC

 

Times are Eastern Daylight
+ if needed

2019 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs preview

The 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs have a bit of the old (Toronto, Winnipeg) from last year's playoff run and a bit of the new (Calgary).

This will be the first time in a long time that Toronto has made the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. If the Jets advance past the first round, this will be the first time Winnipeg has won playoff series in back-to back years in the team's NHL history.

Montréal fell out of the playoffs in the final week. Vancouver and Edmonton made mild pushes but ultimately ended up falling short of the wild card. Ottawa was out of it before Christmas.

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The season series criteria can be overrated leading into a playoff series. Boston has a 3-1 edge over Toronto. The other Canadian teams do have a boost over their opponents. Winnipeg has a 3-1 advantage over St. Louis while Calgary swept Colorado 3-0.

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Toronto has known for some time that Boston would be the opponent. The playoff format forces the Maple Leafs to play tougher teams then they deserve based on regular-season records. If the Maple Leafs survive to win the "Norris," the "Patrick" winner will be the easiest team they've played … for the conference final.

Toronto players would pick Boston as the team to overcome to finally advance to the second round. The rough, often illegal, play of the Bruins and the refs leaving their whistles in the dressing room will prove to be an ugly opponent for Toronto.

Winnipeg was destined all week to be the division winner with home ice in the first 2 rounds. You can argue that the Jets had a 2-month collapse even with 99 points. If the Jets defence is healthy and ready to go, the team could have a deep playoffs run.

Calgary hasn't won a playoff game since 2015. The Flames have lost 8 of the last 9 NHL playoff games. This Calgary team is in a more enviable position since all 8 of those losses were to Anaheim, a team not in the playoffs this season. Colorado will be a tough team but seeded lower than recent Flames playoff opponents. Calgary also has home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Calgary hasn't had home ice advantage in a playoff series since 2006.

The Calgary Flames are dressing for success by bringing back the old 1989 uniforms for home games during the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is the 30th anniversary of Calgary's only Stanley Cup title.

2019 NHL regular season notebook: Bob Cole goes out in a shootout

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2018-2019 season analysis

Bob Cole goes out in style after 50 years of Hockey Night in Canada

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Only a single Canadian team has played for the Stanley Cup in this decade. The Vancouver Canucks made it to Game 7 against Boston in 2011 in perhaps the worst-officiated championship series in any sport.

Montréal had a good shot in 2014 until Carey Price was undercut by Chris Kreider, paving the way for an easy New York Rangers series win. Winnipeg did well before running into a road block in the conference final last spring.

Just getting past the first round, something half the playoff teams do, has been a stretch this decade for Canadian-based teams. The new playoff format really hit home in 2015 when a pair of all-Canadian opening round series meant 2 Canadian teams advanced to the second round.

Canadian NHL teams advancing past 1st round in 2010s
Year	Team	Beat	Lost
2010	Montréal	Washington, Pittsburgh	Philadelphia
2010	Vancouver	Los Angeles	Chicago
2011	Vancouver	Chicago, Nashville, San Jose	Boston
2013	Ottawa	Montréal	Pittsburgh
2014	Montréal	Tampa Bay, Boston	NY Rangers
2015	Montréal	Ottawa	Tampa Bay
2015	Calgary	Vancouver	Anaheim
2017	Ottawa	Boston, NY Rangers	Pittsburgh
2017	Edmonton	San Jose	Anaheim
2018	Winnipeg	Minnesota, Nashville	Las Vegas

 

Here is the U.S. TV schedule for Canadian teams for the first 4 games.

April 10 St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8p (NHLN)
April 11 Toronto @ Boston, 7p (NBCSN) | Colorado @ Calgary, 10p (NBCSN)
April 12 St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 9:30p (CNBC)
April 13 Toronto @ Boston, 8p (NBC) | Colorado @ Calgary, 10:30p (NBCSN)
April 14 Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 7:30p (CNBC)
April 15 Boston @ Toronto, 7p (NBCSN) | Calgary @ Colorado, 10p (CNBC)
April 16 Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 9:30p (CNBC)
April 17 Boston @ Toronto, 7p (NBCSN) | Calgary @ Colorado, 10p (NBCSN)

Looks like I can’t shake @rayferrarotsn. Starting Thursday, we’re scheduled for 8 games in 9 days for @NHLonNBCSports, on the St Louis/Winnipeg and Colorado/Calgary series. How early will Ray want to get to the airport?

— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) April 8, 2019

Game 1 of the Winnipeg series will be from the Rogers Sportsnet feed. The Calgary series seemed destined for the CBC feed but NBCU had other thoughts. NBCU went out of its way to carry the CBC feed for the Flames in 2017 (we didn't complain). The last NBCU crew to cover the Calgary Flames in the playoffs in 2015: the late Dave Strader and Brian Engblom.

Gord Miller and Ray Ferarro will bounce back and forth between the Western Canada matchups. Doc Emrick will work Game 1 of the Toronto series but he will be stuck with Mike Milbury in for Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher. Milbury might know how to behave in a non-biased way with Boston but hasn't proven himself that he can.

Look for Eddie Olczyk to leave the studio to work in Toronto if that crew stays on that series.

The NHL Network may offer Canadian feeds in the matinee rebroadcasts.

NBCSN is carrying both games on April 11 and April 17 while the teams are on different channels on April 13 and April 15. The NHL Network is available both nights to start coverage of a late game. NBCU will also be streaming both games.

There might be conflicts for Game 2 and Game 4 of the Jets series on CNBC. If the earlier game goes to OT, the NHL Network will be the option for the start of the Winnipeg game.

For Canadian viewers, Rogers will pull up a Sportsnet channel to handle the start of late games (Flames) if the Maple Leafs game goes to overtime. That might be Rogers Sportsnet West though there are no regional restrictions in the playoffs. Rogers will also be streaming both games.

2019 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames will run on the CBC. Rogers Sportsnet will have the Winnipeg Jets, though CBC will carry Game 3 of the Jets series.

CBC wants as many nights with a NHL lead-in to The National. You might remember that the Jets were on Sportsnet in the first round last year.

Rogers Sportsnet will run U.S. simsubs on every game the channels will carry outside of the Jets series. Rogers will produce the Pittsburgh-NY Islanders games that appear on the CBC. All games on the CBC have to be produced by Rogers.

Toronto-Boston: Jim Hughson/Craig Simpson/Kyle Bukauskas
Pittsburgh-NY Islanders: John Bartlett/Garry Galley/Christine Simpson
Winnipeg-St. Louis: Dave Randorf/Louie DeBrusk/Scott Oake
Calgary-Colorado: Rick Ball/Cassie Campbell-Pascall/Ryan Leslie

The announcers for the Toronto series are a no-brainer. Bartlett and Galley will follow their series but will cover other Eastern series if that series run short and CBC needs other Eastern games. Rogers is going truly local with the Calgary coverage. The normal West Coast crew will spend some time in the Midwest. Greg Millen gets to sit out the first round.

2019 Alberta election preview

The NHL was very smart to have the Calgary Flames not play on April 16, the day of the Alberta election. CBC viewers in Calgary and Edmonton who want Sidney Crosby and the Penguins might have to stream Game 4 of that series.

April 10 Pittsburgh @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
April 11 Toronto @ Boston, 7p | Colorado @ Calgary, 10p
April 12 Pittsburgh @ NY Islanders, 7:30p
April 13 Toronto @ Boston, 8p | Colorado @ Calgary, 10:30p
April 14 NY Islanders @ Pittsburgh, Noon | Winnipeg @ St. Louis, 7:30p
April 15 Boston @ Toronto, 7p | Calgary @ Colorado, 10p
April 16 NY Islanders @ Pittsburgh, 7:30p
April 17 Boston @ Toronto, 7p | Calgary @ Colorado, 10p

The NBCU family will make good use of Gord Miller, Chris Cuthbert, and Ray Ferraro. The best way to follow the TSN announcers is through their Twitter feeds. If Gord Miller is trapped at O'Hare Airport in Chicago waiting to fly into Minneapolis-St. Paul in a snowstorm, his Twitter feed is more entertaining than ¾ of your cable channels.

As we noted, Miller and Ferarro will split time with Winnipeg and Calgary for Game 1. Chris Cuthbert will be in Nashville for Game 1.

Gord Miller Twitter feed
Chris Cuthbert Twitter feed
Ray Ferraro Twitter feed

The Montréal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in the 1993 Stanley Cup final to win the Stanley Cup. This is still the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup.

logo credit: NHL
Twitter capture: @GMillerTSN

2019 NHL regular season notebook: Bob Cole goes out in a shootout

Bob Cole went most of his 50 years of Hockey Night in Canada without having to deal with shootouts. His last game ended in a shootout. Who knows how he would have ended the broadcast but Cole ran out of time with the late games starting so soon.

The NHL Network tried to give Cole more time; maybe the Canadian audience got a slightly smoother transition.

Let's not have us remember too much for how it ended but remember almost everything before that happened.

CBC/Rogers did a nice job giving us a box full of Cole on the screen in overtime and the shootout. Kudos to Greg Millen who let Cole finish by himself.

Bob Cole goes out in style after 50 years of Hockey Night in Canada

The Winnipeg Jets did their best/worst to give away the "Norris" title in the last week of the season. I trust Ray Ferraro over his concern for the team.

Winnipeg has never won a division title in its NHL history. The chance to draw a wild card team in the first round and secure home-ice advantage for at least the first 2 rounds is the reward for a division title. The Jets even had the ROW tiebreaker.

Instead of home ice with the wild card Dallas Stars, the Jets have to get past the very-hot St. Louis Blues.

Winnipeg giving up 3-goal lead against NY Islanders on March 28, including a pair of goals in the last 2 minutes. The Jets blew a 2-0 lead against Colorado last week. If Winnipeg had won that game in OT, collapse or not, the Jets would be division champs.

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Montréal has a few chapters worth of why the Canadiens just missed the playoffs. The extended time without Shea Weber. The tough schedule down the stretch. The tough loss in Columbus on March 28. Paul Byron getting into a fight and missing key games. No second goal in Washington Thursday night.

The Habs had a good season and they should be proud. But getting 96 points and no playoffs is a hard drink to swallow.

The Montréal Canadiens is the only team with a positive goal differential to miss the playoffs.

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Ryan Poehling had a marvelous debut in Bob Cole's final game, scoring a hat trick in his first game. Poehling is now the third Habs player in history to accomplish that feat, along with Alex Smart in 1943 and Joe Malone (5 goals) in 1917.

Leon Draisaitl became the first Edmonton Oilers player to score 50 goals since 1986-1987 when Wayne Gretzky (62) and Jari Kurri (54) reached that feat. Yes, the Oilers did win the Stanley Cup that season.

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Mathieu Perreault was called for a penalty for Winnipeg early in the 1st period Saturday night, leading to a power play goal for the opposition. There was a player who fell near Perreault and Perreault didn't touch anyone. Yet the penalty was called. Let's hope those officials do not work the Stanley Cup playoffs. We've seen biased officiating against Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs on numerous occasions. Most of them are not that egregious but some are pretty close.

NHL Network, NBCSN, and ESPN+ games in 2018-2019 season analysis

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

NHL Center Ice's primary advantage over NHL.TV is the intermissions content. TSN's Bob McKenzie spoke earlier last week about the idea of the Toronto Maple Leafs bringing up Michael Hutchinson to back up Frederik Andersen. Well, the Maple Leafs did give Garret Sparks a 10-day break. Hutchinson backed up Andersen in Montréal and will serve as the backup in Boston and at least the first 2 games of the playoff series.

As McKenzie noted, Sparks isn't eligible to play for the Toronto Marlies. Sparks will work with the goalie coach during the break.

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The NHL Network took the St. Louis feed late on Saturday afternoon. The shootout wiped out 17 minutes of the Rogers pregame. The U.S. channel did pick up Canadian feeds for both Hockey Night in Canada games. However, the NHL Network couldn't resist taking out the Rogers Sportsnet intermissions in the late game. I do remember the days when carrying a late HNIC game wasn't saved just for the final day of the season.

Rogers clearly doesn't like the Winnipeg Jets assigning Kevin Quinn and Jason York to the desert. Rick Ball and Drew Remenda would have been a nice treat for a crucial game for playoff seeding. Ball is supposed to be the late game play-by-play person next season on Hockey Night in Canada.

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The NHL Center Ice season-ending preview traditionally went to the last game of the season. Given the 3-week opening preview is now 1 week AND there is no midseason preview anymore, losing the last day is very sad. So we hoped to have CBC promos from the late game preview, but we don't.

Thanks to the NHL Network, we do have the early game CBC promos. Unfortunately, we only got 3 promos. This might be a new low, even for Rogers.

Kyle Bukauskas read the Street Legal promo. The Street Legal promo was for the season finale but we found out earlier on Saturday that the revival of the old CBC show is done so that was the series finale.

We realise that getting promos late in the 3rd period would have been problematic. Frontloading CBC promos is better than no promos at all.

Early game: Street Legal; CBC Music (1st); Northern Rescue (2nd); None (3rd)

photo credit: Hockey Night in Canada/CBC/Rogers

NHL the week in preview April 5, 2019

There are 2 days left in the NHL schedule though the Canadian teams are off today.

NHL Network is carrying a Canadian tripleheader to make up for lost time. The channel starts in the late afternoon with Vancouver's final game of the year in St. Louis. The U.S. outlet will carry the CBC feed for Toronto-Montréal. The nightcap on the NHL Network is Winnipeg in Gary Bettman's second-favourite desert team, hopefully with a HNIC feed.

CBC will carry the classic Toronto-Montréal matchup with the final call for Bob Cole on the call in La Belle Province. The Battle of Alberta is the late game on CBC from southern Alberta.

CityTV handles the end of the Ottawa season at home with the team from the Ohio capital.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 and SNW carry the Winnipeg Jets in the desert home of Jets 1.0.

There are no ESPN+ games with Canadian teams on Saturday.

NHL Network

Saturday
Vancouver @ St. Louis, 4p
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Winnipeg @ Arizona, 10p

Tape delayed
Friday Winnipeg @ Colorado, 2p
Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 3p

CBC

Saturday
Toronto @ Montréal, 7p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p

City

Saturday
Columbus @ Ottawa, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Saturday
Winnipeg @ Arizona, 10p

NHL Center Ice free preview

Saturday
Columbus @ Ottawa, 7p
Edmonton @ Calgary, 10p

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The Calgary Flames clinched their first division title since 2006 and you have to go back to 1990 for the last time before 2019 that the Flames are conference champions.

The Winnipeg Jets have never won a NHL division title. The Jets are making this more exciting but not in a way Jets fans want.

Bob Cole goes out in style after 50 years of Hockey Night in Canada

As you can see, the NHL Network did add the final Bob Cole telecast. This is the only Toronto-Montréal game the channel covered this year. Those with the NHL Center Ice free preview got to see Cole's last call in Winnipeg. They had a nice tribute to Cole as did we earlier in the week.

You can check out The National interview with Bob Cole within our tribute listed above.

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The 2019 NHL Draft Lottery is being moved up to the day before the Stanley Cup playoffs on Tuesday. NBCSN, Rogers Sportsnet, and TVA Sports will cover the proceedings at 8 pm Eastern. The Ottawa Senators have the worst record in the league so the Sens have a 18.5% chance of drawing the top pick, a pick that will go to the Colorado Avalanche. The worst that Senators pick can fall to is 4th place.

Vancouver and Edmonton have much slimmer chances to move up.

The best team not to make the playoffs have a 1.0% chance of getting the #1 pick.

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We feel quite sad about the loss of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The league announced it was ceasing operations shortly after the Calgary Inferno defeated Les Canadiennes de Montréal to win the Clarkson Cup.

The CWHL had 4 of its 6 teams in Canada (Toronto Furies; Markham Thunder) as well as the Worcester Blades (MA) and Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays (China).

The National Women's Hockey League announced they would add franchises in Montréal and Toronto. The league currently has teams in Boston; Buffalo; Stamford, CT; Newark, NJ; and St. Paul, MN.

The NWHL is very east-dominant so there would be a concern over whether Calgary can keep a team, especially being league champs.

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We have often wondered if people who live in the Detroit area are aware of Canada right across the river in Windsor and the CBC. The Christine Simpson interview with Dan Petry made us wonder if Canada does make an impact in Detroit. Petry, who was a star pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, talked about the impact that Don Cherry and Coach's Corner made on him. Petry's son Jeff became a NHL defenseman with the Montréal Canadiens. In the interview, we get to see how excited Petry is to finally meet Cherry.

CBET/Windsor, good old Channel 9, had something to do with that story.

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Renous, New Brunswick won Kraft Hockeyville 2019. The New Brunswick community beat out Rich Valley, Alberta; Saint-Polycarpe, Quebec; and Wilkie, Saskatchewan. The community or a nearby place will host a NHL exhibition game as well as getting $250,000 in arena renovations. Given the pattern, look for the Montréal Canadiens or the Ottawa Senators or both to be the teams in that battle.

@indemand you should know that @NBCSN has dumped the @NHLFlames telecast on April 3 in Anaheim. Your @NHL #CenterIce service hasn't picked up that game.

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) March 26, 2019

We did inform InDemand that the Calgary Flames game on Wednesday night had been dropped by NBCSN. InDemand took its sweet time to make the change and add the game. InDemand has blown off a Canadian team or 2 in the final week of a season. ESPN+ also carried the game.

The Winnipeg Jets game Monday night in Chicago was the final ever NHL telecast on good old Channel 9 WGN-TV in Chicago. The local WGN feed has been available in Canada. All of the non-national games will air on NBC Sports Chicago as part of the new deal.

NBCSN spared us the unbearable Washington feed last night. John Walton is the Caps radio play-by-play person but he is pretty good, even with calling the hometown Caps. Joe Micheletti is one of the best U.S. colour analysts.

Chris Cuthbert was in St. Louis Monday night on NBCSN.

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Thanks to the NHL Center Ice free preview, we got CBC promos and a full list as well. The timely promo for the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards telecast was helpful. The Kim's Convenience promo ran right after an ad. The Red Bull Air Race preview and competition coverage started early Sunday morning at 1:30 am Eastern. We don't choose how the CBC uses their promos, but that was a bit of a stretch. With season finales being dominant, you have to be creative.

Early game: Canadian Screen Awards; Street Legal (1st); Kim's Convenience; Men's Rugby Sevens (2nd); Diggstown; Red Bull Air Race (3rd)

Late game: Canadian Screen Awards; Street Legal (1st); Kim's Convenience; Men's Rugby Sevens (2nd); Diggstown; Red Bull Air Race (3rd)

Twitter capture: @canadian_xing

Bob Cole goes out in style after 50 years of Hockey Night in Canada

Oh baby. The 50 years of Bob Cole on Hockey Night in Canada started in radio in 1969. Cole switched to television in 1973 when CBC expanded its coverage. He served as the #1 play-by-play guy from 1980-2008.

Cole was the #2 play-by-play guy at the CBC at the end of its run in 2014. Under Rogers, Cole fell further down in the announcers chain. Rogers shut Cole out for the playoffs in spring 2018. The Rogers wrapup seemed designed to make it exactly 50 years for Cole.

These are the 16 games Bob Cole called this season for Rogers. The original schedule was supposed to end on December 22 but was extended to April 6. All of them are Hockey Night in Canada except where marked.

• October 6 Montréal @ Pittsburgh, 7p+
• October 13 Pittsburgh @ Montréal, 7p
• October 20 Montréal @ Ottawa, 7p
• October 27 Pittsburgh @ Vancouver, 10p
• November 3 Chicago @ Calgary, 10p
• November 24 Boston @ Montréal, 7p
• December 1 NY Rangers @ Montréal, 7p
• December 9 Calgary @ Edmonton, 9p*
• December 15 Ottawa @ Montréal, 7p
• December 22 NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p+
• January 5 Nashville @ Montréal, 7p
• February 6 Ottawa @ Toronto, 7:30p**
• March 9 Ottawa @ Boston, 7p
• March 16 Chicago @ Montréal, 7p
• March 30 Montréal @ Winnipeg, 7p
• April 6 Toronto @ Montréal, 7p+
• — Hometown Hockey; ** -- Wednesday Night Hockey; + — NHL Network

As we noted in the past, Cole served for a time as the news anchor for CBC in St. John's and would cover the NHL on the weekends. Republic of Doyle fans know Cole served as the voice of the republic on the St. John's-based CBC show.

Cole was the skipper for Newfoundland and Labrador to the curling Brier in 1971 and 1975. Cole was also a airplane pilot.

Given all that he has done and has lasted so long, we're not sure what Bob Cole does in retirement. Rogers would be gracious to let Cole contribute to special events such as Hockey Day in Canada — similar to how they use Dick Irvin Jr. — or on Hometown Hockey if they are in Newfoundland.

Cole could also work on a future Allan Hawco TV series shot on The Rock.

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Cole might enjoy not having to spend time in airports. He will likely keep watching hockey and missing the broadcast booth.

Oh baby indeed.

videos credit: CBC News; This Hour Has 22 Minutes
photo credit: CBC News

NHL the week in preview March 29, 2019

NBCSN did cancel the telecast of the Calgary Flames in Orange County on Wednesday night, but did add the Habs in the U.S. capital Thursday night. Hopefully, that will not include the horrible Washington announcers.

CBC showcases the Battle of Ontario from Ottawa. The late Saturday game has Vancouver hosting Dallas.

Citytv goes all-Canadian with the Habs in Winnipeg.

Rogers Sportsnet jumps in with a late Saturday game as Edmonton tries to hold off Anaheim at home. Hometown Hockey will be in Saskatoon, SK with Calgary knowing the way to San Jose. Ottawa travels to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Rogers Sportsnet One will not be fooled on Monday as Edmonton has to wear sunglasses in the bright lights in the desert.

The NHL Center Ice free preview should be in progress.

Those in the Washington and Tampa Bay markets should get Bob Cole calling the Montréal Canadiens in Winnipeg on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night.

NBCSN

Thursday
Montréal @ Washington, 7p

NHL Network

Tape delayed
Friday NY Islanders @ Winnipeg, 2p
Monday Calgary @ San Jose, 2p (90-min)
Tuesday Toronto @ NY Islanders, 2p (2-hour)
Wednesday Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 1p
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 2p

ESPN+

Sunday
Calgary @ San Jose, 8p
Monday
Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7p
Winnipeg @ Chicago, 8:30p
Tuesday
Carolina @ Toronto, 7:30p
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7:30p
Wednesday
Calgary @ Anaheim, 10:30p
Thursday
Winnipeg @ Colorado, 9p

CBC

Saturday
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
Dallas @ Vancouver, 10p

City

Saturday
Montréal @ Winnipeg, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Saturday
Anaheim @ Edmonton, 10p
Sunday
Calgary @ San Jose, 8p
Wednesday
Ottawa @ NY Rangers, 7:30p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Monday
Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p

NHL Center Ice free preview

Friday
Anaheim @ Calgary, 9p
Saturday
Toronto @ Ottawa, 7p
Montréal @ Winnipeg, 7p
Dallas @ Vancouver, 10p
Anaheim @ Edmonton, 10p
Sunday
Calgary @ San Jose, 8p
Monday
Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7p
Tampa Bay @ Ottawa, 7:30p
Winnipeg @ Chicago, 8:30p
Edmonton @ Las Vegas, 10p
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10p
Tuesday
Carolina @ Toronto, 7:30p
Tampa Bay @ Montréal, 7:30p
Winnipeg @ Minnesota, 8p
Edmonton @ Colorado, 9p
San Jose @ Vancouver, 10p
Wednesday
Ottawa @ NY Rangers, 7:30p
Calgary @ Anaheim, 10:30p
Thursday
Tampa Bay @ Toronto, 7p
Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7p
Vancouver @ Nashville, 8p
Winnipeg @ Colorado, 9p
San Jose @ Edmonton, 9p

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ESPN+ did well to carry the Nashville-Winnipeg game Saturday night but also to pick up the Hockey Night in Canada feed. Rogers went with John Shorthouse and Garry Galley. Rogers likely won't produce more than 5 series, if that, even if 4 Canadian teams make the playoffs. Shorthouse would be on the shortlist to expand beyond the primary four.

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The fact that the Calgary game in Anaheim got taken off the NBCSN schedule isn't a huge deal. The game only seemed to be on there to get Anaheim on U.S. television. The only obvious concern is that the U.S. channels will cover the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup playoffs with only a single early-season telecast for the team.

When Calgary was last in the playoffs in 2017, NBCU picked up the CBC feed for the whole series.

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The NHL Global Series was filled with Canadian teams last fall, but the series will be free of Canadian teams next season. Winnipeg did okay but Edmonton struggled with its trip.

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Chris Cuthbert worked Monday night in St. Paul on NBCSN while Gord Miller called the game in Denver Wednesday night for the same channel.

The NHL Network picked up the Columbus feed for the Habs game last night.

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This was the last of the CBC promos on the NHL Network for the regular season. Unfortunately, the final one only had 5 promos.

CBC used 4 of the 5 aired promos for shows instead of sports, a higher ratio than we've seen lately.

The long 3rd period promo for Diggstown aired right after a spot.

The final 2 weekends should be covered by the NHL Center Ice free preview. We will provide all that we can get depending on how well the preview works.

Early game: Mixed Doubles Curling (1st); Street Legal; Kim's Convenience; Schitt's Creek (2nd); Diggstown (3rd)

NHL the week in preview March 22, 2019

The NHL Network jumps back to the CBC feed with Hockey Night in Canada from Toronto. The channel picks up a surprise Montréal game on Thursday night in the Ohio capital on what should be the start of the NHL Center Ice free preview.

CBC goes Original 6 with the New York Rangers in Toronto in the early game. Calgary goes west to Vancouver in the nightcap.

Citytv goes to Montréal on a Saturday night with Buffalo in town.

Rogers Sportsnet has Hometown Hockey festivities are in Enoch Cree Nation, AB with the Habs in the U.S. south but not too far south. The Maple Leafs are in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

Rogers Sportsnet One is helpful on Wednesday with the Calgary Flames welcoming Dallas.

Rogers Sportsnet 360 as well as SNW and SNP embrace P.K. Subban and his friends traveling to Winnipeg on Saturday night.

The NHL Center Ice free preview should start on Thursday.

NHL Network

Saturday
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p
Thursday
Montréal @ Columbus, 7p

Tape delayed
Friday Winnipeg @ Las Vegas, 3p
Thursday Dallas @ Calgary, 2p (2-hour)

ESPN+

Saturday
Nashville @ Winnipeg, 7p
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p
Sunday
Montréal @ Carolina, 7p
Columbus @ Vancouver, 10p
Tuesday
Florida @ Montréal, 7:30p
Thursday
NY Islanders @ Winnipeg, 8p

CBC

Saturday
NY Rangers @ Toronto, 7p
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10p

City

Saturday
Buffalo @ Montréal, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet

Sunday
Montréal @ Carolina, 7p
Wednesday
Toronto @ Philadelphia, 7p

Rogers Sportsnet One

Wednesday
Dallas @ Calgary, 9:30p

Rogers Sportsnet 360

Saturday
Nashville @ Winnipeg, 7p

NHL Center Ice free preview

Thursday
Florida @ Ottawa, 7:30p
NY Islanders @ Winnipeg, 8p
Dallas @ Edmonton, 9p
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10p

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The NHL Network didn't think much of Calgary-Winnipeg but Rogers was smart enough to put its top team on the game. Fortunately for U.S. viewers, ESPN+ carried that Hockey Night in Canada game.

Rogers whined for some time that viewers didn't know where games were. They put their #1 team on a game only on Sportsnet West and Pacific, a striking move for Rogers.

Another nice move was Cassie Campbell-Pascall working colour with Bob Cole in Montréal. Rogers had a good roundtable on women in hockey. Campbell-Pascall had strong words over the need to nurture potential hockey analysts regardless of gender.

In watching Kendall Coyne Schofield in Edmonton on NBCSN, I was reminded of those early games Campbell-Pascall called on CBC, mostly with Mark Lee. She is the fill-in for Kelly Hurdey on Calgary Flames telecasts on Rogers Sportsnet West. I thought she was good from the start but she had greatly improved.

Coyne Schofield had moments of sharp analysis mixed with awkward moments and a few too many "awesome" mentions. To Campbell-Pascall's point, you have to give analysts time and experience to develop.

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The 2019 Heritage Classic is still on for October 26 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The press conference gave us the news that the home team has flipped from Calgary to Winnipeg.

Tickets will go on sale on April 25. A pre-sale priority will be given to Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames season-ticket holders.

The Toronto-Nashville matinee rebroadcast got dumped for a press conference for the 2020 Winter Classic on Wednesday.

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The Hometown Hockey game will also air on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network with the audio in the Plains Cree language. The Hometown Hockey crew and festivities are in Enoch Cree Nation near Edmonton in Alberta.

Montréal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price's mother is the former chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation.

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The first half of the Rogers pregame was lost to the U.S. audience for a Charlottetown-Halifax Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game. The missing content looked to be previews of the primary games i.e., not the one in Montréal.

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The Calgary-Winnipeg telecast made good use of Rush's Limelight. There are 3 possible connections: the "lime" in Limelight ties in the green of St. Patrick's Day; Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets in the limelight of the NHL; or the Junos that were held the next day in London, ON.

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The Simpsons had a bit of fun with Canada and the Calgary Flames in last week's E My Sports episode. Bart is the leader of the Evergreen Terrors video game team that gets past its first opponent to play the Calgary Lames in the North American final. In a valiant comeback, the Terrors get past the Lames.

When the Lames think they are going to win, they take maple syrup and try to throw it on the coach. The maple syrup is so thick that it never reaches the coach. The other major Canadian joke is that the officials tell the Canadian team they are out. They don't know they are out until the official says "oot."

The Simpsons airs on Global in Canada via Fox in the United States.

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We have noted in the past that Boston's Zdeno Chara leads a charmed life with referees and the league. Chara lifted the stick of Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele to the rafters in a game last week. A penalty would have been called on most NHL players, but not Chara, of course.

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

NBCSN has a "Star Sunday" to market NHL players. Mark Stone was opposite Connor McDavid. Liam McHugh said about Mark Stone "not exactly a household name here." This exposes the hypocrisy of NBCSN not carrying Ottawa and Vancouver. If Elias Pettersson wins the Calder Memorial Trophy, NBCSN still won't know who he is.

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NHL Network went with the Chicago feed for the Vancouver game. 2 of the 3 U.S. telecasts for Vancouver have been against Chicago.

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NBCSN gave us the uninspired choice of Los Angeles play-by-play guy Alex Faust and the cluelessness of Brian Boucher for the Winnipeg game in Orange County Wednesday night. Kendall Coyne Schofield isn't as consistent as Boucher but at times, she is a better analyst.

Gord Miller will work Sunday night on NBCSN in Chicago.