The two biggest stars in hockey will get prime exposure during the upcoming 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NBC has picked Capitals/Rangers and Penguins/Flyers as its two featured first round series. The network will begin its Stanley Cup Playoff coverage with Rangers/Capitals Game 2 on Saturday afternoon, before airing Game 3 of Penguins/Flyers on Sunday. The following week, the network is scheduled to air Game 6s in both series, if those games are necessary.
The decision to pick these series was a proverbial no-brainer. Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are each strong hockey markets, and New York is the nation’s top television market. Last year, playoff games involving the Rangers, Penguins and Flyers drew some of the best playoff ratings on broadcast in years.
Left out in the cold are the Detroit Red Wings, whose series against the Columbus Blue Jackets is currently set to be a cable-only affair. This marks the first time since NBC took over televising the NHL in ’06 that the Red Wings’ first round series will not be televised.
