Canadian Crossing

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal Canadiens season is done

CAREY! 😤#ItsOn | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/sZ2qy6A5dQ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 8, 2021

22 shots in a crucial Game 5 is almost certainly not enough. A 1-0 loss is a tough way to go out but speaks to how competitive the 2021 Montréal Canadiens were.

The press harped on Montréal finishing 18th in the league and the .527 lowest regular season points % to reach the Stanley Cup final. Factor in that Carey Price missed a lot of the second half and the team had to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak. Those are facts, not excuses. The team is very different now than at the end of the regular season.

This team had a hell of a run. As crushing as this defeat seems to the Habs, to Canadian teams, there is pride in what this team accomplished. The 2020 version was the #24th team in a 24-team playoffs and still accomplished what the Toronto Maple Leafs can't do: win a playoff series. The 2021 version came within 3 wins of a Stanley Cup.

Dominique Ducharme and Alex Burrows replaced Claude Julien and Kirk Muller. Carey Price was stellar in the first 3 series. The penalty kill dominance was excellent. The youth clicked. The veterans chipped in as needed. They got as far as they did as a team.

Hoping captain Shea Weber gets another crack at winning the Stanley Cup with the Habs.

The Montréal Canadiens still have 24 Stanley Cup championships, by far the most in the NHL.

Every Canadian NHL team has been to a Stanley Cup final in the 21st century except for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal Canadiens survive to reach Game 5

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal to play for the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993

We have posted clips of the Canadiens from TVA Sports through Twitter feeds. A reminder that French is the language of Quebec. Montréal is a bilingual city in many ways: too bilingual for some French language advocates. The @CanadiensMTL feed is bilingual so there are translations for the words.

Here are the CBC/Rogers Sportsnet for the Stanley Cup finals.

TVA Sports numbers are not available. Omni carried Game 4 and Game 5 and its numbers are not included in these statistics.

We will update these numbers for Game 5 when we get them.

Game 1: 3,566,000
Game 2: 3,024,000
Game 3: 3,063,000
Game 4: 3,705,000
Game 5: 3,370,000

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal, Las Vegas tied 2-2

We should give an award to the best Canadian NHL team each season

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal set to play Las Vegas in Stanley Cup semifinals

The NBC run with the NHL ended with the same crew for Game 5 as Game 1 and Game 4. Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyk move on to TNT. Brian Boucher will work for ESPN. Pierre McGuire is a free agent.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal sweeps Winnipeg to head to Stanley Cup semifinals

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

Chris Cuthbert left TSN to go to Rogers Sportsnet so he could call a Stanley Cup final. Cuthbert got a chance to do this in 2021 and with a Canadian team in the mix. The fact that Cuthbert also called the series on CBC is meaningful given his history with the public broadcaster.

Cuthbert and Craig Simpson proved a quality duo throughout the entire 2021 playoff run. Glad the U.S. audience got to see them through the rebroadcasts.

Here is the full list of CBC promos that aired on the NHL Network rebroadcasts.

Montréal Game 1: The National (1st); Death in Cryptoland; CBC Gem; Tokyo Olympics (2nd); CBC News app (3rd)

Montréal Game 2: Players Own Voice; CBC News app (2nd); The National (3rd)

Montréal Game 3: Death in Cryptoland (1st); The Block; Tokyo Olympics (3rd)

Montréal Game 4: The National (1st); Canada Tonight with Ginella Massa (2nd); CBC Gem; CBC News app (3rd)

Montréal Game 5: The Block (1st); CBC Sports App (2nd); Tokyo Olympics (3rd)

Twitter capture: @sportsnet
photo credit: @canadiensMTL

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal Canadiens survive to reach Game 5

BUT GAGNANT DE JOSH ANDERSON EN PROLONGATION!!!

JOSH ANDERSON WINS IT IN OT!!!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Xj0dbfDcKm

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 6, 2021

Josh Anderson got moved up to the line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki for Game 4. Anderson gave the Montréal Canadiens the team's first lead of the series with a goal off a nice pass from Suzuki. Anderson scored the OT winner with an assist from Caufield. Alexander Romanov added his first playoff goal in the 3rd period to give the Canadiens another lead.

The Game 4 win was the first in the era of the Bell Centre. The 1993 title came at the Montréal Forum.

This team has already come from behind 3-1 to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs this spring. The 1942 Maple Leafs are still the only team to come from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup finals.

L'gros Ben avec l'gros but.

Big Ben with a big goal.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/vR2q4A06mv

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 29, 2021

The Game 1 offensive highlight was the Ben Chiarot pinball goal off a pair of Tampa Bay Lightning players. Shea Weber and Jesperi Kotkaniemi had the assists. The lasting memory of Game 1 will be the bloody head of Brendan Gallagher (not pictured). As physical as the Habs have been, they did nothing close to what happened to Gallagher. This type of behaviour should be punished beyond a 2-minute penalty, not rewarded. Shea Weber got fined the max penalty $5,000 for a slash.

The Canadiens almost went 14 games without giving up a power play goal. Steven Stamkos scored one late in Game 1.

Centre Jake Evans returned to the Canadiens lineup in this series. Evans missed 9 games due to a concussion. Joel Armia made the trip to Tampa after being cleared from COVID-19 protocol. Interim coach Dominique Ducharme returned for Game 3 from COVID-19 protocol.

Nick Suzuki had the only goal in Game 2, a back-handed, unassisted goal. The Canadiens outshot Tampa Bay 43-23 in the loss.

Phillip Danault, Nick Suzuki, and Corey Perry scored goals in Game 3. The Lightning had more goals (6) in Game 3 than the Habs combined in the first 3 games.

The team asked the Quebec government if the Bell Centre could have 10,500 fans for the Stanley Cup final games in Montréal. The Quebec government said, "non." The capacity remains at 3,500, fewer than 20% of what is allowed in Tampa.

The crowds outside the arena are still in the thousands. The city of Montréal set up outdoor viewing parties in lieu of fewer people inside the Bell Centre.

Outdoor spaces are generally better than indoor spaces for COVID-19, though 5,000-6,000 could have been a nice compromise.

You’re on pal. #GoBolts https://t.co/jOhA7IB2bE

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 29, 2021

Not our joke: With this series being Montréal vs. Tampa Bay, the winner gets the Rays. For those who don't know the reference, the theory is that the MLB Tampa Bay Rays could play during the summer months in a new downtown ballpark in Montréal. The premise is absurd on so many levels. Build the new stadium and the Rays would be full-time in La Belle Province in 2028.

For all the time MLB has been in Canada, there hasn't been a true baseball stadium like you see down south.

The bet itself, of which we do not know the details, reminded us of the Sochi Olympics in 2014. Then Prime Minister Stephen Harper swept the bet with 48 beers from then President Barack Obama when the Canadian women's and men's hockey teams won gold.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal to play for the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal, Las Vegas tied 2-2

The Montréal Canadiens will host the 2022 NHL Draft. The team was scheduled to host the 2020 draft. Canadian cities rarely get any NHL perks. The 2009 draft was the last one in Montréal.

There is a plan for a Heritage Classic in March 2022 in a NHL Canadian city. There is only one NHL city in Canada that hasn't hosted an outdoor game: Montréal.

Percival Molson Stadium (home of the CFL Alouettes and McGill University) would be my first choice while Stade Spauto (home of the MLS CF Montréal) would be a good choice as well.

We should give an award to the best Canadian NHL team each season

ESPN announced its NHL lineup for the new U.S. TV deal. We will analyze all the U.S. picks shortly before the next season starts. There are a lot of ESPN analysts but not clear how they will be used on games vs. studio work. The network looks like they put some thought and consideration into the selections.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal set to play Las Vegas in Stanley Cup semifinals

The finals TV numbers would have been everything Rogers Sportsnet would have been dreaming of since taking the national contract in 2014. Montréal draws fairly well for a non-Toronto team but the Habs lackluster performance and the finals being in July might be factors.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final drew less than Game 4 of the Stanley Cup semifinal. Game 4 was a lot better.

CBC carried all of the Stanley Cup final games.

Our apologies for not being able to get TVA Sports numbers. If we get them, we will place them in the story.

Game 1: 3,566,000
Game 2: 3,024,000
Game 3: 3,063,000
Game 4: 3,705,000

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal sweeps Winnipeg to head to Stanley Cup semifinals

Alexandre Sylvestre (Game 3) and Marc Hervieux (Game 4) supplied the anthems at the Bell Centre. Very few opponents introduce any French into O Canada when the Canadiens are playing. A notable exception is Martina Ortiz Luis for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

On NBCSN, Eddie Olczyk had a personal matter on Game 2 so Brian Boucher went upstairs and Pierre McGuire was inside the glass. Game 3 on NBC had the return of Olczyk while McGuire stayed inside the glass and Boucher was out. Boucher replaced McGuire for Game 4.

No one can be Doc Emrick, but Kenny Albert is doing a good job. 

Turns out Peacock is streaming the NBC telecasts as well.

The Game 3 NBC intro featured Guy Carbonneau, captain of the 1993 Stanley Cup champion Montréal Canadiens.

The NHL Network matinee schedule has included CBC rebroadcasts. Canada Tonight with Ginella Massa is on CBC News Network. We saw a brief visual for CBC Gem just before the 3rd period in Game 3.

Montréal Game 1: The National (1st); Death in Cryptoland; CBC Gem; Tokyo Olympics (2nd); CBC News app (3rd)

Montréal Game 2: Players Own Voice; CBC News app (2nd); The National (3rd)

Montréal Game 3: Death in Cryptoland (1st); The Block; Tokyo Olympics (3rd)

Montréal Game 4: The National (1st); Canada Tonight with Ginella Massa (2nd); CBC Gem; CBC News app (3rd)

Twitter captures: @canadiensMTL; @canadiensMTL; @potus
photo credit: Rogers Sportsnet

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal, Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup final

The Montréal Canadiens have one more hurdle to the team's first Stanley Cup win since 1993 — its division rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay edged out the New York Islanders in 7 games to reach the championship battle. Game 1 starts tonight.

The series will follow the M-W-F pattern with a potential Game 7 on a Sunday night. The series avoids Canada Day as well as the Fourth of July.

Montréal has faced Tampa Bay 3 times before in the playoffs, going 1-2. The Habs lost 4 straight in the 2004 conference semifinals, won 4 straight in the 2014 opening round, and lost 4-2 in the 2015 second round.

There is a peculiarity to the fact that the games in Florida will be at Amalie Arena, the home this winter for the NBA Toronto Raptors.

À lundi.

See you Monday.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Uk4ORUuqA7

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 26, 2021

Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has been a fashion plate in his red suit. We feel comfortable predicting a lot more use of the suit in the next couple of weeks.

Luke Richardson remains the interim coach for the interim coach. Dominique Ducharme will reportedly be back for Game 3 for Montréal, provided there aren't more complications.

Ducharme has received both of his COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Joel Armia won't be traveling to Tampa since he is in COVID-19 protocol.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal to play for the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993

The Canadiens chose not to touch the Clarence S. Campbell trophy while the Lightning chose to touch the Prince of Wales trophy.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal, Las Vegas tied 2-2

There was a bit of exuberance in downtown Montréal with the Game 6 celebration. The impression that Canadians are "too polite" to have this kind of a reaction is naive. Only 3,500 fans have been at the Bell Centre with thousands outside the arena. Add in COVID-19 and a 28-year wait and some fans may go too far.

We should give an award to the best Canadian NHL team each season

The quirk in the schedule has the Americans traveling to Montréal and staying there for the July 4 holiday. I was in Vancouver for the July 4 holiday in 2008, spending the evening at BC Place with the BC Lions. The team played the U.S. anthem, which was a nice touch. Given how much your humble narrator misses Montréal, I would gladly spend any country's independence day in that wonderful city.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal set to play Las Vegas in Stanley Cup semifinals

The Montréal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets had to play back-to-back games twice in the 2021 NHL playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers had to play back-to-back games in the opening round. None of the American teams had to go through back-to-back games. The argument was that the NHL had to finish before the Tokyo Olympics. Even if this series goes 7 games, there is plenty of error margin. 

Yes, the Canadian division fell behind the other divisions due to COVID-19. Just a reminder that Gary Bettman doesn't like Canada.

2021 Stanley Cup notebook: Montreal sweeps Winnipeg to head to Stanley Cup semifinals

We noted earlier in the playoffs when John Forslund couldn't grasp the name of the building where the Winnipeg Jets play. When the Seattle Kraken come to Winnipeg, someone will hopefully tell Forslund the new name of the building.

Bell MTS Place will become Canada Life Centre on Canada Day 2021. True North Sports and Entertainment signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement with the life insurance company.

Bell still has its name on the arena in Montréal (which Forslund didn't screw up that name) while Rogers has the naming rights for arenas in Edmonton and Vancouver and the baseball stadium in Toronto. Scotiabank, not a phone company, has naming rights for arenas in Calgary and Toronto.

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs scoreboard

CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage

We already covered the primary Stanley Cup finals coverage. You can always read more about the efforts of Rogers Sportsnet as well as NBCUniversal. Peacock will stream Games 1-2 from NBCSN. Omni will carry Games 4-7 in Punjabi in Canada.

The NHL Network gave the pattern of CBC feeds for games in Montréal in the last series. Hoping to get Canadian feeds for matinee rebroadcasts for as many games as possible.

photo credit: NHL
Twitter capture: @CanadiensMTL

Schitt's Creek wins 2 Golden Globes for Catherine O'Hara and the show

Tonight's #GoldenGlobes winner for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy is... @schittscreek! pic.twitter.com/SBTK8dsN0P

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) March 1, 2021

Schitt's Creek received 5 Golden Globes nominations for its final season. The show won 2 Golden Globes: Catherine O’Hara for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy and the show won for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

"Thank you CBC for making this show in Canada," O'Hara said in her acceptance speech, thanking Eugene and Dan Levy for creating "an inspiring, funny, beautiful family love story in which they let me wear 100 wigs and speak like an alien."

"The incredible work you all did over these past six seasons have taken us to places we never thought possible, and we are so grateful to all of you for it," Dan Levy said in his acceptance speech for the show. "Thank you to the CBC and Pop TV for making the active choice to keep this show on the air and give it the time and space it needed to grow."

O'Hara and her husband Bo Welch had some fun with him playing an applause track and later music to get her to cut short her speech.

The show beat out Emily in Paris (Netflix); The Flight Attendant (HBO Max); The Great (Hulu); and Ted Lasso (Apple TV Plus). O'Hara won out over Lily Collins (Emily in Paris); Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant); Elle Fanning (The Great); and Jane Levy (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist).

Eugene Levy was up for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy but lost out to Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso). The other contenders were Don Cheadle (Black Monday); Nicholas Hoult (The Great); and Ramy Youssef (Ramy).

The supporting roles were combined into a single category so Dan Levy and Annie Murphy were lumped in with drama nominees.

Dan Levy was up along with another Canadian: Donald Sutherland for The Undoing. They lost to John Boyega (Small Axe). The other contenders were Brendan Gleeson (The Comey Rule) and Jim Parsons (Hollywood).

Annie Murphy was up alongside Gillian Anderson and Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown) as well as Julia Garner (Ozark) and Cynthia Nixon (Ratched). Anderson won the Golden Globes award.

This was the first year that Schitt's Creek received Golden Globes nominations.

All the love and congratulations going out to Catherine O'Hara for her win tonight, and to the entire Schitt's Creek cast and crew for the team win! ✨💛✨ pic.twitter.com/LF8Q1Vd8Hj

— Schitt's Creek (@SchittsCreek) March 1, 2021

More ways to watch Schitt's Creek in the United States

Schitt's Creek wins 9 Emmys in its final season

Schitt's Creek gets 15 Emmy nominations in its final season

Adieu to Schitt's Creek

Sandra Oh introduced Palm Springs to the Golden Globes audience. 

Despite the loss, Donald Sutherland has an extensive history with the Golden Globes with 9 nominations and 2 wins: Citizen X (1996) and Path to War (2003).

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

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The Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language category went to Minari (USA), a film that can't win the Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. Minari beat out Another Round (Denmark); La Llorona (Guatemala/France); The Life Ahead (Italy); and Two of Us (France/USA).

Schitt's Creek has almost completed its final awards run. The 2021 Canadian Screen Awards will likely be the last ceremony to honour Schitt's Creek. Those will be held May 17–20.

Twitter captures: @GoldenGlobes; @SchittsCreek
photo credit: Golden Globes/NBC

Dan Levy joins the list of Canadians who have hosted Saturday Night Live

Eugene! ❤️ @Realeugenelevy pic.twitter.com/k3XPkBwYw6

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) February 7, 2021

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the addition of Ryan Gosling on April 13, 2024, Simu Liu on November 20, 2021, and Brendan Fraser on October 18, 1997 and February 13, 1999.

For Dan Levy, any notion of Schitt's Creek or even Canada was self-contained within the monologue on Saturday Night Live. This included a literally self-contained Eugene Levy, father and co-creator of Schitt's Creek, and a touching moment with Catherine O'Hara's picture as a nod to her being a previous host of the program.

Levy was joyous in the sketches. Some of the highlights were being an inappropriate Universal tour host, singing and dancing a football song as a bartender, an It Gets Better sketch, and how tired people get in their mid-30s turning from sex to Zillow.com.

The show allowed Levy to stretch beyond neurosis, which was quite refreshing to see. The pandemic and the upcoming Super Bowl combined for a sketch where people think they're safe despite doing unsafe things. Levy even wears a Kansas City football shirt. Levy seemed rather comfortable in the live format.

Levy could have relied on his TV mother Catherine O'Hara for advice on hosting Saturday Night Live. Coincidentally, Levy and O'Hara hosted the program when they were both 37. O'Hara hosted the show in 1991 and 1992. 

By our unofficial count, 34 Canadians have previously hosted Saturday Night Live. Former SNL cast members who have hosted are Dan Aykroyd, Phil Hartman, Norm Macdonald, Mike Myers, Paul Shaffer, and Martin Short. The SCTV influence is prevalent with Short, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, and Dave Thomas.

O'Hara also was Levy's co-star on Schitt's Creek and did technically spend a day as a SNL cast member.

Justin Bieber and Drake have served as hosts and musical guests.

The other Canadian hosts are Pamela Anderson, Neve Campbell, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Gosling, Tom Green, Wayne Gretzky, Margot Kidder, Simu Liu, Eric McCormack, Leslie Nielsen, Elliot Page, Matthew Perry, Jason Priestley, Ryan Reynolds, The Rock, Seth Rogen, Michael Sarrazin, William Shatner, Kiefer Sutherland, Ryan Gosling, and Nia Vardalos.

Eugene Levy and John Candy were scheduled to co-host in 1985 but the episode was cancelled due to a writers strike.

Let us know in the comments section if you missed a Canadian as the host.

Of course, we should note that the creator of the program, Lorne Michaels, is Canadian.

Saturday Night Live pokes fun at Montreal, Drake with Bonjour Hi

Mike Myers outs Ryan Gosling as Canadian

Mike Myers explores the why of Canada in his new book

Made Nous and other ways to promote Canadian content

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Saturday Night Live had some fun with Schitt's Creek back in October during its Bonjour Hi sketch.

Dan Levy's Saturday Night Live appearance came on the heels earlier in the week of 5 Golden Globe nominations for Schitt's Creek. The CBC show was nominated for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy as well as individual acting nominations for Dan Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, and Annie Murphy. The Golden Globes air February 28 on NBC and CTV.

The CBC show also got 5 Screen Actors Guild award nominations. However, since the SAG awards bundle best and supporting awards, the maximum wins would be 3, not 5.

Levy's amazing weekend continues tonight with the debut of his M&Ms Super Bowl ad. His Schitt's Creek co-star Emily Hampshire appeared in a Tide Super Bowl ad in 2020.

Moms. ♥️ https://t.co/QC5n2ChfpY

— dan levy (@danjlevy) February 6, 2021

A nice reminder, along with the It Gets Better sketch, of what this journey has been for Dan Levy. That is part of the joy that Schitt's Creek has brought to millions of fans.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC in the United States and Global in Canada.

Twitter captures: @nbcsnl; @tingtime
photo credits: Saturday Night Live/NBC

Transplant back on Tuesday this week on NBC and CTV

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the news that Baroness von Sketch Show is running 5 bonus episodes on CBC early in 2021.

Transplant airs on Tuesday nights at 10 pm Eastern on NBC and CTV. The Baltimore-Pittsburgh NFL game started out on Thanksgiving night. The game was moved to Sunday due to COVID-19 numbers for the Baltimore Ravens. The game, originally scheduled to air on NBC, was moved to Tuesday.

NBC chose to move the Tuesday programming to Thursday nights, putting Season 1 Episode 11 Orphans on a 48-hour delay. Late yesterday, the NFL moved the game once again to Wednesday.

The network announced last night that the original Tuesday night programming will return to Tuesday night.

NBC Reveals Schedule Changes After Ravens-Steelers NFL Game Is Moved, Again https://t.co/9IVreluxdW

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) December 1, 2020

NBC normally has the Sunday Night Football package but gets the nighttime U.S. Thanksgiving game as part of the deal. NBC moved the programming to Thursday instead of Wednesday because the network was carrying coverage of the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, home of the NBC headquarters.

If you are a Transplant fan and not a fan of football, you might not have even known the show had been temporarily moved. We always remind people to check your local listings.

NBC is running the final 2 episodes of Transplant back-to-back a week from tonight December 8 at 9 pm and 10 pm Eastern.

The return to Tuesday nights is convenient to CTV, which is running a sim sub on the repeats in Canada that are new to the U.S. audience.

Trickster coming to the U.S. on the CW in January

Transplant makes U.S. debut on NBC

U.S. television turns to Canadian TV shows to fill gaps due to COVID-19

Their work has only just begun. #Nurses premieres Monday, December 7 at 10/9c on NBC. pic.twitter.com/QbSl7QUC3V

— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) November 28, 2020

Nurses is the latest Canadian TV drama to come to U.S. broadcast TV

Since we are updating Canadian television on U.S. channels, tomorrow night (December 2) marks the end of the 2 seasons for Coroner on the CW Network. The CBC drama had 16 episodes that ran on the CW since late summer. IFC is wrapping up the 8-episode final season of Baroness von Sketch Show tomorrow night. The CBC comedy has been running on IFC on Wednesdays at midnight Eastern.

Baroness von Sketch Show just announced that 5 bonus episodes will run on CBC starting January 5.

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NBC starts running the Global series Nurses Monday night at 10 pm Eastern. The first 2 episodes run on Mondays before moving into the Transplant timeslot Tuesday nights at 10 pm Eastern in 2021 on January 5.

Trickster from CBC hits the U.S. airwaves on the CW on January 12.

We have been very pleased with Transplant in its first season. We are mostly happy with Coroner though the show goes off on odd tangents. We implore the U.S. networks to keep these shows well past the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

photo credit: Transplant/CTV
Twitter captures: @Deadline; @NBC

U.S. NHL coverage has a large hole with Doc Emrick retirement

After 3,750+ Professional and Olympic hockey games, 100 different verbs used to describe a pass or shot, and 22 Stanley Cup Finals, the legendary Mike "Doc" Emrick has announced his retirement from broadcasting.

From hockey fans around the world, we say #ThankYouDoc! pic.twitter.com/Pt27Dp63TW

— #ThankYouDoc (@NHLonNBCSports) October 19, 2020

The U.S. coverage of the NHL will change significantly with the retirement of Mike "Doc" Emrick. Known to a generation for his work on NBC and NBCSN, Emrick's career took him to CBS, ABC, and Fox among other outlets.

Emrick liked Canada, something a certain NBCSN announcer (John Forslund) can't say himself. He had an appreciation for old-time hockey. Emrick cut back his workload in the last couple of years.

When the NHL All-Star Game was in Ottawa in 2012, Emrick noted the 126-mile length of the Ottawa Canal and pointed out that the canal was open for skating until the thaw. Emrick's style was about the small things but making them seem big. That will be missed.

Chris Cuthbert would have been on a list of possible replacements. Cuthbert specifically noted wanting to call the Stanley Cup for a Canadian broadcaster.

Chris Cuthbert picks Stanley Cup final over TSN, jumps to Rogers Sportsnet

The battle for the #1 voice is generally between John Forslund and Kenny Albert. Forslund could not work out a deal to continue broadcasting for the Carolina Hurricanes (all on the Hurricanes, not on Forslund). Albert would be the logical pick except for his many sports duties, including New York Rangers radio and MLB and NFL on Fox Sports. Both announcers will get more NHL games when the league is back.

Gary Thorne has been put into exile at MASN for Baltimore Orioles telecasts in 2020. Thorne would only be a short-term substitute given his age, assuming he is interested.

Brendan Burke and Alex Faust are rising stars at NBCSN but not likely to jump into the #1 seat. Mike Tirico is an option but has a very busy schedule for NBC Sports, including the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, if that happens.

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Dave Randorf is a free agent with big game experience but might find a home at TSN for NHL and CFL. Rick Ball might be available depending on the status of Rogers and the Calgary Flames. Paul Romanuk and Mark Lee have plenty of time. NBCSN still needs to account for the lost games Cuthbert covered since 2014. Gord Miller remains an option for NBCSN but has a busy day job at TSN.

Rick Peckham is also retiring from Tampa Bay; Peckham helped out on some NBCSN telecasts. Dave Strader would be the favorite if he were still alive. Perhaps NBCSN would look into Steve Levy or John Buccigross from ESPN as a possible #1 pick.

The 2020-2021 season is the final season for the current NBC contract with the NHL.

Emrick called the 2014 Winter Classic involving the Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2016 Winter Classic involving the Montréal Canadiens. NBCSN didn't use him in any of the Heritage Classics or the Centennial Classic in Toronto. Here is the shootout call in Ann Arbor on January 1, 2014. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement.

Twitter capture: @NHLonNBCSports
video and photo credit: YouTube/NHL

Saturday Night Live pokes fun at Montreal, Drake with Bonjour Hi

The last time the CBC logo was on Saturday Night Live, host Sandra Oh was wearing a CBC T-shirt while hosting the show about 18 months ago. Saturday Night Live came up with a skit over the weekend about a morning news show called Bonjour Hi from Montréal. Bowen Yang and Kate MacKinnon were Jean-Lawrence (John-Larry) and Anne-Marie, the bubbly hosts.

Jean-Lawrence asked Anne-Marie about her weekend. She suffered an injury after having sex with a Cirque de Soleil performer. She pointed out her surgery was free. Her traffic report mentioned Jacque Cartier as many times as was feasible.

SNL host Issa Rae hosted a Drake Watch segment where she spoke of near sightings of the Toronto rapper. She thought she saw Drake in a wheelchair but realised that Drake was only in a wheelchair on Degrassi. Rae was nominated for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Insecure, but lost out to Catherine O'Hara for Schitt's Creek.

There was an American journalist in the sketch (Mikey Day) who was from De-troi (Detroit). His prize for staying through the sketch was a basket of Montréal bagels.

Bonjour Hi plays on the unofficial greeting in Montréal, showcasing the bilingual status of the city. Some want to see the Hi part of Bonjour Hi phased out.

Rachel McAdams even got some love in the sketch.

The theme of the sketch felt more French than French-Canadian. Jean-Lawrence noted that Montréal was the best parts of Canada and the worst parts of France.

CBC or Radio-Canada would never have a show like this. The sketch had a CBC joke that Schitt's Creek would have been followed by the reboot Schartt's Cavern. An okay joke but funny that Saturday Night Live made a Schitt's Creek joke.

The episode also featured Justin Bieber as a musical guest. The show has been using Canadian Jim Carrey as Joe Biden since the season started on October 3. Carrey does a very good job as the former vice president, though his characterization is greatly exaggerated.

Made Nous and other ways to promote Canadian content

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

Saturday Night Live creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels is Canadian. Michaels hasn't used Canada as a background too often in sketches. As SNL sketches go, this was pretty funny. A bit silly and a bit too much French. There was definitely knowledge of Montréal in the sketch. Thought we heard Yang say "tabarnac."

The sketch might have also been a nod to missing Montréal since normally there is an unofficial pipeline between Montréal and New York City for tourism. J'adore Montréal bagels.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC in the United States and Global in Canada.

video and photo credit: Saturday Night Live/NBC

2020 Stanley Cup notebook: The day NBC tried to make us stop watching the NHL

NBCSN was carrying Game 2 of the Montréal series. The Habs were up 3-0 in Game 2, which means the Toxic Trio (John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher) — my new term for them — were not happy.

Forslund tried once to suddenly send the TV audience for the Habs game to the end of the Arizona-Colorado game, airing on the NHL Network. About 30 seconds of game time later, the audience was switched to a game that was airing on the NHL Network. So 2 channels had a game and 0 channels had the Habs game.

Forslund did say initially that the game would be on the NHL Network, which ultimately wasn't true. The game was available on the NBC Sports streaming service, which takes awhile to get going to work properly.

The coverage went to the other game from 9:07 to 2:43 in the 2nd period.

We joked a little bit that NBCSN dumped out of the Canadiens game because they were winning handily. We don't think that was the reasoning but no logical reason exists.

This sadly reminded us of the Baseball Network after the 1994 MLB strike when you couldn't get the American League or National League championship series depending on where you lived. You could get one series or the other on television but not both. No streaming in 1995; if you pull off a pathetic move that reminds us of the Baseball Network, you have committed a grievous offence.

The audience got the game back late in the 2nd period. No explanation was given.

NBCSN also interrupted the New York Islanders-Washington game for the end of the Canucks game in regulation, again with the same game on 2 channels and a game without a TV outlet.

The Arizona-Colorado game was completely on the NHL Network yet with the NBCSN feed for the whole game. Sometimes you get NBCSN coverage on the NHL Network. Game 1 of the Calgary series with Dallas completely aired on the NHL Network with the NBCSN feed but that was because of the 5 OT game with Columbus and Tampa Bay.

The NHL Network has been the sanctuary for Canadian feeds. We were a bit surprised in the qualifying round when NBCSN promised a Rogers Sportsnet feed for the potential clinching game for Vancouver and switched to the local Minnesota feed.

Game 2 of the Vancouver series against St. Louis was on the NHL Network but somehow became the NBCSN feed from the start. Before yesterday, the NHL Network had never carried a NBCSN feed all the way through on purpose.

The slight consolation is that the NHL Network supplies the intermissions, which means viewers actually get analysis of the game they are watching.

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The standard policy is you don't bail out of a game. A different game starts on another channel, staying with a game through to the end.

For those able to get a local feed in your market, you are guaranteed to get the whole game on TV, something the NHL on NBC Sports will no longer guarantee.

NHL on NBC Sports took logical choices smothered in illogical decisions on August 11. These weren't accidents; deliberate actions were taken. Were these decisions flukes or the start of something dastardly? Will we get an explanation of any kind? Don't hold your breath.

We want occasional Canadian feeds. If we are losing them in the playoffs, we want to know.

As much as we have criticised Rogers decisions on numerous levels, mostly on personnel, their delivery of the game hasn't been an issue. This year, you know if the other game is running late that Rogers Sportsnet West (Flames) and Rogers Sportsnet Pacific (Canucks) will start the game on time.

We have cut back our NHL coverage during the regular season. We are very tired of the crap on this beat. The Calgary Flames lost a goal in Game 2 on a decision that would not have been made against Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington etc.

We're glad to give some coverage to the NHL but we need some basic cooperation. Feedback would be helpful. NHL Network and NHL on NBC Sports aren't helpful on Twitter to questions and concerns.

The NBC deal is set to expire in 2021. As much as we can hope for some help (ESPN? CBS Sports Network?), NBC will get some or all of the new TV deal. Gary Bettman likes the way NBC covers the sports with pro-American, lazy analysis coverage. A lot of us don't. Again, so very tired.

Let us know in the comments whether we need to go big or go home. Going home is so tempting right now.

logo credit: NHL on NBC Sports

How Toronto recovered from the SARS impact

Before CanadianCrossing.com was a concept, the SARS coronavirus impacted a lot of areas, including Toronto. The World Health Organisation (WHO) even issued a travel advisory in late April 2003 against Toronto. The WHO did lift the travel advisory after a week.

I confess the only thing I really remember about the SARS coronavirus was that Conan O'Brien took his late night NBC show to Toronto. Late Night with Conan O'Brien played the Elgin Theatre on February 10-13, 2004.

Credit for the move came from Peter Soumalias, a co-founder of Canada's Walk of Fame, and Toronto native and Late Night executive producer Lorne Michaels.

O'Brien had a bit of fun with getting the crowd going with "Go Leafs Go" chants. Canadian guests included Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Ron James, and Stompin' Tom Connors. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog got in a bit of hot water over comments made about the French Canadians.

Conan O'Brien deserves our support for his support for Toronto

Where to visit Canada in 2020

CanadianCrossing.com travel coverage

We see with the current COVID-19 that travel is down. Airlines and airports are more directly affected by the reduced travel. Restaurants, travel destinations, hotels, and other travel-related industries also suffer.

Things are not nearly as bad in Toronto and Canada so far. However, fewer people are traveling and that affects everyone.

Halifax and Truro, Nova Scotia were looking forward to hosting the 2020 women’s world hockey championship. The tournament was postponed; the cities will host the 2021 version.

The 2009 Toronto garbage strike that affected the ferries out to the islands was self-induced. The coronavirus outbreaks don't have an obvious fault, but everyone suffers.

Canada, Ontario, and Toronto weren't ready for the SARS outbreak; the entities appear to have learned and are applying techniques to overcome the COVID-19 outbreak.

We strongly encourage travel whenever we can, Canada or elsewhere. The stories out of Rome sounded intriguing with tourists having more room to breathe at tourist stops. These stories came just before Italy instituted a travel ban throughout the whole country.

If you live in Canada, take advantage to visit nearby places, subject to safety concerns. If you live near the Canadian border, find the passport and make a small trip.

photo and logo credit: Late Night with Conan O'Brien/NBC