NHL On NBC: Should Happen/Will Happen for the Rest of the Season
February 23, 2009 4 Comments
The animosity toward the game selections by NBC for it’s hockey broadcasts this year have reached an unprecedented level. Devils fans, Sharks fans… any fans West of Pittsburgh have been annoyed that their teams have been shafted for national attention by the cruising Red Wings, the dull-as-dirt Rangers, and the floundering Penguins. With no disrespect for the Flyers and Caps, who brought their end of the bargain to their NBC games, it’s time for a little change.
So it is with a little rejoicing that NBC has FINALLY brought the NHL-best Boston Bruins to use the Rangers as a punching bag on March 8th. This sets up four more weeks of interesting decisions for the NHL on NBC. There are legitimate choices as to when to feature which teams, and what would be entertaining and draw ratings to the joke of a 12:30 timeslot. We go week-by-week and tell you what should get picked, and what will get picked.
March 15th, 12:30 PM
Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers
Detroit vs. Columbus
Boston vs. Pittsburgh
What Should Get Picked: Detroit vs. Columbus. The Blue Jackets are making an interesting run, drawing record local television ratings, and increasing the allegiance of the already passionate local fans. Double that to the always fun step-father/step-son rivalry between them and the Champion Red Wings, and you might have a ratings winner in addition to a great game. The Wings and Jackets squared off once before on “Game of the Week”, and it drew an 0.7 overnight, and likely a worse final rating. But that was with CBJ out of it, and the Wings with nothing to play for. That’s a little different now.
What Will Get Picked: Boston vs. Pittsburgh. Read my lips: NBC is NOT making the Rangers/Flyers mistake again. It will not happen. So, while Detroit-Columbus would be good, it’s not quite Boston-Pittsburgh. Sid and the Pens use their final NBC appearance against the best team in the NHL.
March 22nd, 12:30 PM
Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh
New Jersey vs. Boston
Los Angeles vs. Chicago (1:00 PM ET start should it get chosen)
What Should Get Picked: Any of these three matchups would likely entertain, but Chicago-Los Angeles would just be a breath of fresh air. I mean, jeez, let’s watch two teams from big markets out west, and two teams who are growing in relevance in those markets on a national stage. Let’s plug Kane and Toews and Kopitar and Dustin Brown, who is easily one of the five most watch-able players in the Western Conference.
What Will Get Picked: NBC’s without a Pens game to pick, and will have to take a risk either way, but they may see Devils-Bruins as a safer bet, as strange as it sounds. The Devils and Kings draw about the same ratings in the huge NY and LA markets, while the Bruins do better than the Hawks in their large markets. Jersey represent!
March 29th, 12:30 PM
Minnesota vs. Detroit
Pittsburgh vs. Florida
Atlanta vs. Washington
What Should Get Picked: Dudes, Pens-Panthers. Seriously. Rarely will we ever promote showing another Penguins pick, but Pittsburgh-Florida would be a hugely entertaining matchup between two clubs desperate for playoff berths. Why not give the Panthers a shot? We know all of you out there are thinking of reasons why not, that’s what the comments are for. But if our “Should”s all get picked, it’s feasible this one could make it.
What Will Get Picked: In that vein, Minnesota-Detroit is still a pretty good matchup of superb American hockey markets. It would be the Wild’s first national television appearance since 2006, and only their 2nd regular season network TV game in the team’s history.
April 12th, 2:00 PM
NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia
Detroit vs. Chicago
Boston vs. NY Islanders
St. Louis vs. Colorado
What Should Get Picked: Detroit-Chicago. For cool finality purposes. The NBC season began in Chicago, in a larger venue, with a game between the Red Wings and Blackhawks. Let’s finish it in front of 22,000 at United Center with a possible Western Semifinal preview (Hear that Sharks fans? Semi-final).
What Will Get Picked: Sigh. Rangers-Flyers. It’ll probably mean nothing (it could mean a tiny bit for the Rangers) and the Flyers will likely be stuck in the 4/5 spot and the Rangers in the 6-7-8 range, but it’s the best NBC can do.
What’s your take? Leave us a comment.
Puck The Media 
March 22nd: Any of these will entertain.
– Pitt-Philly is an old and violent rivalry, and Pens will probably be fighting for a playoff berth at that time. Those two teams despise each other, probably more than the Rangers and Flyers do.
– NJ vs. Boston will be a top-of-the-East matchup. Unless the Flyers have an angel on their shoulder, they’re not going to catch NJ at this late date. NJ vs. Boston is a scramble for home ice advantage in the East and should be interesting for that alone.
– LA vs. Chicago could be an interesting matchup, since LA is still looking to slide into the playoff picture.
I think they’ll go with NJ vs. Boston.
March 29th: It’s gotta be Pens-Panthers. Absolutely.
April 12th: Gotta be Detroit/Chicago. Winter Classic rematch anybody?
I would love to see NJ Boston on March 22. NBC blew it a few weeks ago when they had a chance for NJ-SJ.
NBC does a terrible job with their studio show. I would like to see Bill Patrick in a studio set with Milbury. Pierre McGuire is much better on Canadian TV then on NBC.
I am shocked – SHOCKED – that the epic Islanders-Coyotes tilt wasn’t selected for March 8th. I don’t think the Islanders have been on NBC since the lockout.
Actually, they have been… twice.
in 2006 @ Pittsburgh.
in 2007 vs. Rangers.