Contrary to what was speculated on this site earlier the year, the NHL on NBC “Game of the Week” will stay put on Sunday afternoons.
The National Hockey League released the 2012-13 national television schedule on Thursday. Ten of the thirteen NHL telecast windows on NBC this season are scheduled to air on Sunday afternoons.
The three exceptions are the annual day after Thanksgiving game (Rangers/Bruins at 1 PM ET), the January 1 Winter Classic (Maple Leafs/Red Wings at 1 PM ET) and coverage on April 13, the final day of the regular season (Rangers/Flyers or Bruins/Sabres, 12:30 PM ET).
The rest of the schedule remains the same as in past years, with games featuring high-profile teams (almost all from the Eastern and Central time zones) on early Sunday afternoons.
After the Winter Classic, NBC is scheduled to resume coverage on January 20 with either Flyers/Blackhawks or Red Wings/Blues. Two weeks later, on Super Bowl Sunday, the defending champion Kings are scheduled to make their first regular season appearance on broadcast against the Capitals.
The NBC schedule also includes the now-traditional “Hockey Day in America” doubleheader, with either Penguins/Sabres or Red Wings/Wild in the early game, and Bruins/Blackhawks airing nationally at 3:30 PM.
Over on NBC Sports Network, the season would begin with Bruins/Flyers and Blues/Avalanche on October 11 — opposite coverage of the Major League Baseball Division Series and the vice presidential debate. The following night, the Kings would raise their championship banner against the Rangers.
The entire 2012-13 NHL schedule is contingent on NHL owners either reaching a new collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union or choosing to continue playing games in the absence of an agreement. The league has already ruled out the second option.
During his nearly two-decade tenure as NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman has yet to strike a new collective bargaining agreement without first losing part or all of the regular season. The 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout and the 1994-95 season was shortened to just 48 games per team.
While owner-imposed lockouts have become the rule in the NHL, the players have gone on strike only once — twenty years ago.
(Schedule information from Puck the Media)
