Your TV Guide and Open Thread For Night 10 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

 

This will appear every night to inform you of the TV networks and announcers that will be covering the games during the playoffs.  Enjoy all the local and national info.

7:00 PM ET, NY Rangers vs. Washington, Game 5 (NYR Leads 3-1)

National TV (US): VERSUS (HD)
Play by Play: John Forslund
Color: Darren Eliot
Reporter: Bob Harwood

National TV (CANADA): TSN (HD)
Play by Play: Gord Miller
Inside the Glass: Ray Ferraro

Regional TV (NEW YORK): MSG (HD)
Play by Play: Sam Rosen
Color: Joe Micheletti
Reporter: John Giannone

Regional TV (WASHINGTON): CSN Mid-Atlantic (HD)
Play by Play: Joe Beninati
Color: Craig Laughlin
Reporter: Al Koken

We’re Still Confused as to Why NBC Doesn’t Get First Choice Here

From Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer:

I’ve asked around and it’s a little more complicated than that. Basically, the NHL wants a game on NBC on Sunday and NBC wants a hockey game on Sunday. If the Capitals win, then everything’s OK and it’ll be Game 6 of the Rangers-Capitals series.

If the Capitals had lost, New Jersey-Carolina was the alternate game for that time slot. But even though the game was listed as TBA on the schedule, both teams still have to approve the time change to 2 p.m., which also means pulling it off their local broadcasters, because NBC has an exclusive and Versus does not.

If there had been another series playing Sunday and more games to go around, the whole operation would have been easier, but someone somewhere along the line wouldn’t agree to the change, so hold off on the calls to NBC.

This didn’t stop them from pulling that Ottawa-Pittsburgh game from primetime a couple of years ago.  These are facts.

Oh well, have a good weekend everyone, and we’ll join you along the way.

NBC to Air Pens-Flyers, Only Rangers-Caps Game on Sunday

We’re going to post the “Every NBC rating ever” thing to include last weekend after the jump.  But this is how it’s going to go for NBC this weekend.

Saturday, 3:00 PM ET
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Game 6
Play by Play: Mike Emrick
Color: Eddie Olczyk
Inside the Glass: Darren Pang 

Sunday, 2:00 PM ET
Washington vs. NY Rangers
Play by Play: Mike Emrick
Color: Eddie Olczyk
Inside the Glass: Darren Pang

If the Rangers/Capitals series is over tonight, it will be nothing.  A spokesman for NBC Sports told us that there will be no replacement game on Sunday if the Rangers/Capitals series had ended.  NBC wanted at least one game this weekend, and they got it with the Flyers/Pens series being extended.  Instead, if the series has ended, NBC will air an adventure show and a poker tournament.

Can I have a new TV deal, please?  Anyway, NBC’s press release and NBC playoff ratings after the jump.

Your Mid-Day YouTube Compulsory: Red Wings Win, Ducks and Devils One Step Away, Pens Can’t Finish Off Flyers

VERSUS Sees Massive Jump in First-Round Playoff Ratings

From the prolific Jeff Z. Klein of Slap Shot:

The N.H.L. post-season is still young, but initial ratings reports show a big increase in TV viewership in the United States.

According to figures released by Versus, the network’s first 10 games of 2009 playoff coverage drew an average of 434,382 viewers per telecast, up some 50 percent over last year’s figure, 290,551.

Wowser.  This is impressive stuff for the network.  With New York, Boston, Detroit and Pittsburgh all likely headed for the 2nd round – where VERSUS gets 2 exclusive broadcasts from each series – they look to have even more success.

Of course, you can’t discount Lindsay Soto as the reason, too.