So You Want to Know What Nights Your Team's Playoff Series Will Be?

Here are a few easy steps, as I’ve gotten some inquiries (By the way, Broadcast News returns at Noon).  I’m going to use a potential Nashville-Vancouver series as an example for all of these:

1. Check the arena’s event schedule as an easy reminder of when a home game cannot be played.  For example, Nashville could be playing Vancouver in Round 1, wherein the Canucks would have home-ice advantage.  Hockey Night in Canada would prefer the series play April 15th and 17th, so they could get a Thursday-Saturday rotation and the prime Hockey Night in Canada slot.  However, the Harlem Globetrotters have a show at GM Place on Saturday, April 17th, so that’s out unless there can be a rescheduling.  Right now, it looks like that series will go 4/15-4/17 in Vancouver, and 4/20-4/22 (or 4/19) in Nashville, as there are events at Bridgestone Arena on the 21st and 23rd.  Then the series would go back for the Saturday night CBC wants on the 24th, with a game six in Nashville the 26th and game seven in Vancouver the 28th.
2. TV TV TV.  NBC and CBC in particular, will get what they want when it comes to scheduling.  Think a Thursday-Saturday series would make most sense for your team’s series?  Not if NBC wants a Sunday game.  The three-day off sequence shows up in between Games 1 & 2.  Similarly, want a Game 1/2 Wednesday-Friday?  CBC could just as easily ask for Wednesday-Saturday if that’s what fits them.  The TV networks always win.
3. Common Sense. Above all, just picking a Wednesday/Thursday and then skipping a day in between games.

Hope this helped.  We’ll know everything on Sunday night!

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