After an entire postseason on cable, the NHL is one Rangers win away from a rare conference final Game 7 on broadcast television.
ESPN announced Friday that ABC will simulcast Game 7 of the Lightning-Rangers NHL Eastern Conference Final on Tuesday if that game occurs. It would be the first game of the playoffs on broadcast television. Coverage would also air on ESPN and ESPN+. [Related: 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs TV schedule.]
Only once in recent memory has a conference final Game 7 aired on broadcast television. Game 7 of Blackhawks-Ducks aired on the NBC broadcast network in 2015, still ranking as the most-watched playoff game outside of the Stanley Cup Final on record (dates back to 1994).
Saturday’s Game 6 will remain on ESPN and ESPN+.
One way or the other, ABC will carry an NHL game in primetime this coming week. If the Rangers win Saturday, it will be Game 7 against the Lightning. If the Lightning win, the start of the Stanley Cup Final against the Avalanche will move up to Wednesday night.
Notably, Game 7 would be the first weeknight, primetime NHL game on broadcast television — excluding the Stanley Cup Final — since the league returned to broadcast television in the mid-1990s. NBC’s regular slate of primetime playoff games aired exclusively on Saturdays or Sundays.
[News from ESPN PR/Twitter 6.10]
