Earlier today, our own Joe Yerdon did a great job of breaking down the NBC schedule. You can bet that we’ll be ready to give you extensive coverage of the NHL all year round, but there’s no doubt that those NBC games will be special.
Since we want to cover hockey from all angles, I thought I’d take a look at the Versus TV schedule, too. Here it is in its entirety via the Versus Web site. Feel free to use this to plan your hockey viewing nights this season.
* Versus Exclusive
October
7 -- Carolina vs Minnesota, Noon (Helsinki)
7 -- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7:00*
7 -- Chicago at Colorado, 10:00*
8 -- Minnesota at Carolina, 12:00 (Helsinki)
8 -- Columbus at San Jose, 3:00 (Stockholm)
9 -- Phoenix at Boston, 12:00 (Prague)
12 -- Colorado at Detroit, 7:30*
13 -- NY Islanders at Washington, 7:00*
14 -- Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 7:00
18 -- Colorado at NY Rangers, 7:00*
19 -- Boston at Washington, 7:30*
25 -- Los Angeles at Minnesota, 8:00*
26 -- Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7:30*
November
2 -- San Jose at Minnesota, 8:00*
8 -- Phoenix at Detroit, 7:30*
9 -- Washington at NY Rangers, 7:30*
15 --St. Louis at Colorado, 8:00*
16 -- Philadelphia at Montreal, 7:00*
17 -- Boston at NY Rangers, 7:00
22 -- Boston at Tampa Bay, 7:30*
24 -- St. Louis at Nashville, 8:00*
29 -- Dallas at Carolina, 7:30*
30 -- St. Louis at Chicago, 8:00*
December
6 -- San Jose at Detroit, 7:30*
7 -- Buffalo at Boston, 7:30
8 -- San Jose at Philadelphia, 7:00
13 -- Los Angeles at Detroit, 7:30*
14 -- Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:00*
15 -- NY Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7:00
20 -- Anaheim at Boston, 7:30*
21 -- New Jersey at Washington, 7:30*
27 -- Minnesota at Columbus, 7:30*
28 -- Boston at Tampa Bay, 7:30*
31 -- Phoenix at St. Louis, 8:30
January
3 -- Chicago at Los Angeles, 9:00*
4 -- Minnesota at New Jersey, 7:00*
10 -- Boston at Pittsburgh, 7:30*
11 -- Philadelphia at Buffalo, 7:30*
17 -- Los Angeles at Dallas, 8:30*
18 -- Montreal at Buffalo, 7:30*
24 -- NY Rangers at Washington, 7:30*
25 -- Montreal at Philadelphia, 7:30*
26 -- New Jersey at Detroit, 7:00
29 -- NHL SKILLS COMPETITION -- Raleigh, NC
30 -- NHL ALL-STAR GAME -- Raleigh, NC
February
1 -- Pittsburgh at NY Rangers, 7:30*
1 -- Phoenix at San Jose, 10:00
2 -- NY Islanders at Pittsburgh, 7:00
7 -- NY Rangers at Detroit, 7:30*
8 -- Buffalo at Tampa Bay, 7:30*
9 -- Montreal at Boston, 7:00
14 -- Washington at Phoenix, 8:00*
15 -- Buffalo at Montreal, 7:30*
16 -- Minnesota at Chicago, 8:00
20 -- Montreal at Calgary, 6:00 -- Heritage Classic (McMahon Stadium)
21 -- Washington at Pittsburgh, 7:30*
22 -- New Jersey at Dallas, 8:30*
23 -- San Jose at Pittsburgh, 7:30
28 -- Chicago at Minnesota, 8:00*
March
1 -- Buffalo at NY Rangers, 7:00*
2 -- Pittsburgh at Toronto, 7:00
7 -- Washington at Tampa Bay, 7:00*
8 -- Colorado at Minnesota, 8:00*
9 -- Chicago at Tampa Bay, 7:30
14 -- San Jose at Chicago, 8:00*
15 -- Carolina at Buffalo, 7:30*
16 -- Washington at Detroit, 7:30
21 -- Pittsburgh at Detroit, 7:30*
22 -- Washington at Philadelphia, 7:30*
23 -- Vancouver at Detroit, 7:00
28 -- Chicago at Detroit, 7:30*
29 -- Chicago at Boston, 7:30*
30 -- NY Rangers at Buffalo, 7:00
31 -- Columbus at Washington, 7:00
April
4 -- Boston at NY Rangers, 7:30
4 -- Los Angeles at San Jose, 10:00
5 -- New Jersey at Pittsburgh, 7:30*
6 -- St. Louis at Chicago, 8:00
7 -- Atlanta at NY Rangers, 7:00
8 -- Chicago at Detroit, 7:00
Anaheim - 1
Atlanta - 1
Boston - 11
Buffalo - 9
Calgary - 1
Carolina - 4
Chicago - 11
Colorado - 5
Columbus - 3
Dallas - 3
Detroit - 11
Edmonton - 0
Florida - 0
Los Angeles - 5
Minnesota - 9
Montreal - 6
Nashville - 1
New Jersey - 5
NY Islanders - 2
NY Rangers - 11
Ottawa - 0
Philadelphia - 9
Phoenix - 5
Pittsburgh - 11
San Jose - 8
St. Louis - 5
Tampa Bay - 6
Toronto - 1
Vancouver - 1
Washington - 11
So Versus achieved nearly full representation of the NHL in its schedule, with only Ottawa, Edmonton and Florida earning a goose egg in coverage. The teams who received the most amount of games shouldn’t raise many eyebrows, with the Capitals, Penguins, Rangers, Red Wings, Blackhawks and Bruins tied at 11 appearances. Buffalo, Minnesota and Philadelphia aren’t far behind with nine while San Jose’s prominence as a dominant NHL team for the past few years earned them an impressive eight performances.
One other important note is that Versus will carry Canada’s answer to the Winter Classic, aka the Heritage Classic. That game will feature the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, February 20. As usual, the network will also cover the All-Star Game and its related festivities after the event took an Olympic break last year.
The 78-game schedule marks a 13 game increase from last season, according to Versus. Let it be known that I am delighted by any increase in hockey coverage; the more puck drops fans can see, the better.