NBC Sports Research

How to watch and stream Flyers vs. Penguins outdoors in 2017 NHL Stadium Series on NBC

By NBC Sports ResearchFeb 19, 2017, 12:05 PM EST

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The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins renew their great rivalry Saturday when Pennsylvania’s two storied NHL franchises face off outdoors at Heinz Field, the home of the NFL’s Steelers.

The game will be televised live on NBC, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will also provide live streaming of the game.

Four-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass analyst) will have the call in Pittsburgh.

The NHL on NBC studio team of Liam McHugh (host) and analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, and Jeremy Roenick will anchor pre-game and intermission coverage on-site.

This will be the fourth outdoor game of the 2016-17 NHL season. It started with the Heritage Classic on Oct. 23 in Winnipeg, where the Edmonton Oilers shut out the Jets, 3-0. On Jan. 1, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4, in overtime at BMO Field. And the next day, in the Winter Classic, the St. Louis Blues knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1, at Busch Stadium.

Get your game notes: Avalanche at Penguins

By NBC Sports ResearchOct 21, 2013, 4:36 PM EDT

Should be a good one tonight in Pittsburgh between the host Penguins and surprising Colorado Avalanche. The game can be seen on NBCSN (TSN2 in Canada) starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:

—– The Pittsburgh Penguins are 5-0-0 on home ice this season and have scored 18 home goals (5th most in the NHL), three apiece by Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and Jussi Jokinen. As a team, the Avalanche have allowed only four goals on the road, and are tied with the Boston Bruins for the fewest road goals allowed/game (1.00).

—– Since the CONSOL Energy Center opened before the 2010-11 season, the Penguins have the most home wins in the NHL: (Pittsburgh – 77; Chicago, San Jose – 73; St. Louis – 72; Vancouver – 71)

—– The Avalanche are 4-0-0 on the road (two wins short of the franchise record to start a season, six in 2011-12), where they have outscored their opponents by a 13-4 margin. However, the Avs have not won in Pittsburgh since a 5-3 victory on Jan. 24, 2004 (3 consecutive regulation losses). In that game, two Penguins rookies, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (five goals allowed) and Brooks Orpik (1st career NHL goal), and Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay (zero points), suited up for their respective teams.

—– In a head-to-head comparison of number one overall draft picks from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (2013) has one goal and six assists through his first eight NHL games. Through eight games of his rookie season (2005-06), Penguins center Sidney Crosby (2005) had two goals and nine assists.

—– Sidney Crosby is off to the best start of his career through eight games (seven goals, 10 assists). His 2.13 points/game is 0.70 higher than his career average (1.43). Since 1995-96, when Mario Lemieux (2.30) became the most recent player to average more than two points/game over a season (min. 70 games), three of the top five spots for scoring average in a single season are held by Penguins.
1. Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2000-01, 1.61 points/game (122 points in 76 games)
2. Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1998-99, 1.57 points/game (127 points in 81 games)
3. Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks, 2005-06, 1.54 points/game (125 points in 81 games)
4. Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2006-07, 1.52 points/game (120 points in 79 games)
5. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, 2009-10, 1.51 points/game (109 points in 72 games)

—– Coming off a 4-2 defeat of Buffalo on Saturday, Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .971 save%) is slated to tend the Avalanche net for the second consecutive game. The 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy winner has not backstopped Colorado to consecutive wins since Feb. 7 and Feb. 10, 2012.

—– Avalanche forward Matt Duchene has six goals in first eight games. In four previous NHL seasons, he never had more than two goals in his first 10 games of a season. Dating back to last season, the Avs are 7-0-0 in their last seven games when Duchene lights the lamp.

—– By starting his NHL head coaching career with six consecutive wins, Patrick Roy matched the NHL record held by his former coach in Montreal, Mario Tremblay (1995-96). Right below the Hall of Fame goaltender and Tremblay on the list, with five wins apiece, are Roy’s first coach with the Avalanche, Marc Crawford (1994-95, Quebec), and Bep Guidolin (1972-73, Boston).

NHL on NBCSN — Game notes for Kings at Wild

By NBC Sports ResearchOct 3, 2013, 11:10 AM EDT

The Minnesota Wild host the Los Angeles Kings tonight on NBCSN (8 p.m. ET). Here are some game notes, as compiled by our crack research staff.

• In their 13th NHL season, the Minnesota Wild have never lost their home opener at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Since skating to a 3-3 tie vs. Philadelphia in their inaugural season (Oct. 11, 2000), the Wild are 11-0-0 in home openers.

• The Los Angeles Kings begin their 47th season on the road after dropping 15 of their final 16 away games of the 2013 season – the last six of the regular season, followed by 10 of 11 in the playoffs, capped by their double-OT Game 5 ouster at Chicago in the Western Conference Final. Including the playoffs, the Kings were 9-22-4 away from Staples Center.

• Anze Kopitar has led the Kings in scoring six consecutive seasons (2007-08 to 2012-13). Only Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne had a longer streak of leading the Kings in scoring (8 seasons, 1975-76 to 1982-83). Wayne Gretzky (7 times) and Luc Robitaille (6) are the only other players in franchise history to lead the team in points more than twice, but neither of them matched Kopitar’s streak.

• Since the beginning of the 2009-10 season, Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick has appeared in the second-most games (239) between the pipes (Henrik Lundqvist, 246). The Connecticut native and odds-on favorite to tend Team USA’s net at the Sochi Olympics in February needs 23 wins to pass Rogie Vachon (171) for #1 on the franchise all-time list.

• In 2011-12, the Kings (2.29) and Wild (2.02) finished 29th and 30th in the NHL in goals per game, respectively. Last season, both of the teams improved by exactly 0.44 goals per game, as the Kings (2.73) improved to 10th in the league and the Wild (2.46) finished 22nd.

• 4 of the past 6 meetings between the Kings and Wild at Xcel Energy Center have gone to a shootout.

• The Kings have played 38 playoff games in the last two years, most in the NHL.

38 – Los Angeles
32 – N.Y. Rangers
29 – Chicago
29 – Boston
21 – Pittsburgh
19 – Detroit

News and notes: Do-or-die time for Bruins

By NBC Sports ResearchJun 24, 2013, 10:59 AM EDT

Game 6: Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins, 8 p.m. ET (watch on NBC and live online) – Blackhawks lead series, 3-2

Tonight in Game 6 at TD Garden, the Blackhawks will try to win their fifth Stanley Cup title in their 87th NHL season, while the Bruins will try to avoid elimination and force a Game 7 in Chicago on Wednesday evening.

Patrice Bergeron, who leads the Bruins with four goals this series and is tied for the team lead with David Krejci with nine goals this postseason, will likely be a game-time decision after suffering an undisclosed “body” injury in Game 5. Bergeron left the game after playing only 49 seconds in the second period and was taken to a local hospital for observation. He was released Saturday night and traveled home with the team Sunday morning. If Bergeron is unable to play in Game 6, head coach Claude Julien may have a difficult challenge putting together his forward lines. Carl Soderberg, who made his NHL postseason debut on the fourth line with Rich Peverley and Shawn Thornton in Game 5, could be slotted on the second line alongside Brad Marchand and Jaromir Jagr. Another leading candidate would be Tyler Seguin, who centered the line with Marchand and Jagr when Bergeron missed six games with a concussion in early April.

The Hawks also face a possible injury dilemma. Jonathan Toews, who edged Bergeron for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward this season, missed the entire third period after absorbing a hard hit to the shoulder region – one of 53 hits registered by the Bruins in Game 5 – by defenseman Johnny Boychuk in the attacking zone. The team is optimistic that Toews’ “upper-body injury” will not force him out of Game 6, but if he is unable to play, former Junior Bruin and Boston College Eagle Ben Smith may be reinserted into the lineup. Smith replaced the injured Marian Hossa in Game 3, but had zero points in 10:23 of ice time.

The Blackhawks, who are 18-4 overall (8-2 on the road) in Games 5-7 under Joel Quenneville since he took over as the head coach during the 2007-08 season, clinched their two most-recent Stanley Cup titles – 1961 and 2010 – on the road. The Bruins, however, have recently been in this situation before in the Cup Final. The B’s were down three-games-to-two to the Canucks in 2011, won Game 6 at home (5-2), then captured the Cup in Vancouver two nights later.

SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE

The Blackhawks have won five straight postseason Game 6s on the road, including a 4-3 defeat of the Red Wings in the Western Conference Semifinal series on May 27 (last loss: May 1995 at TOR).

The Bruins have won four straight postseason Game 6s at home (last loss: May 1998 vs. WSH).

DID YOU KNOW?

On Jan. 19, the Chicago Blackhawks opened their regular season with a 5-2 defeat of the Los Angeles Kings. With a win tonight or in Game 7, the Hawks could become only the second team since the NHL gained control of the Cup in 1927 to open their season against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, and finish it by raising the Cup themselves. The Detroit Red Wings began their 2007-08 season by defeating the reigning Cup champs, the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2 in a shootout. (It was the Ducks’ third game of the season.)

Note: The 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes began their winning campaign by knocking off the most recent (2004) Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-2. However, the title was considered vacant due to the cancellation of the 2004-05 season.

LINKS

Injury to Patrice Bergeron hurts all of hockey [Boston Herald]
Bruins radar having trouble locating Blackhawks [National Post]
Blackhawks finding an answer for Zdeno Chara [New York Times]
Hawks know final victory will be toughest one to get [Chicago Sun-Times]
With or without Toews or Bergeron, it’s been an epic series [Globe & Mail]
Words take on special meaning at Stanley Cup Final [ESPN]

The Morning Skate: What’s next in wild series?

By NBC Sports ResearchJun 22, 2013, 10:47 AM EDT

News and notes entering tonight’s Stanley Cup Final showdown in Chicago.

Game 5: Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks, 8 p.m. ET (watch on NBC or live online) – Series tied, 2-2

For the fourth time in the last five years – and 23rd time since the best-of-seven playoff format was introduced in 1939 – the Stanley Cup Final is knotted at two games apiece after four games. (It is also the 10th time that each team has won at home and away in the first four games of a Cup Final series.) The team winning Game 5 has gone on to win the Cup 15 of the 22 previous times, adding weight to tonight’s Game 5 at the United Center.

There were as many goals scored in regulation (10) of Game 4 as the first three games of the series combined, before Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook ended it 9:51 into overtime, his second OT-winner of the postseason. Tuukka Rask’s home shutout streak reached a franchise-record 193:16, but then the Bruins goaltender proceeded to allow six goals for only the second time in his career. His league-leading goals-against average rose from 1.64 to 1.83 in the game. After giving up five goals, Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford’s GAA climbed from 1.74 to 1.86.

After combining for one assist in the first three games playing on separate lines, the Blackhawks’ reconstructed top line of Bryan Bickell – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane broke out in Game 4, combining for two goals and three assists. The Hawks improved to 3-0 all-time in the playoffs when Toews and Kane each scored a goal. On the flip side, the Bruins’ third line of Daniel Paille – Chris Kelly – Tyler Seguin, which lay behind three of four Boston goals in Games 2 and 3, were held off the scoresheet. Patrice Bergeron had two goals, his third and fourth of the series, which leads all skaters.

No major lineup changes are expected on either side for Game 5. Marian Hossa, who played 19:07 in Game 4 after being scratched the game before with an undisclosed injury, missed Friday’s practice, but will play. Nick Leddy, who had career-lows of four shifts and 2:37 ice time in Game 4, should also see an increase in ice time. Judging by Friday’s practice at TD Garden, the Bruins are expected to insert Carl Soderberg on the fourth line with Rich Peverley and Shawn Thornton, in place of Kaspars Daugavins. The Swedish first-year winger, who had two assists in six regular-season games, would be making his NHL postseason debut. You might recall that earlier this postseason, B’s defensemen Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug scored their first-career NHL playoff goals without having tallied a regular-season goal. Krug did so in his playoff debut.

DID YOU KNOW?

The cumulative overtime played in three games this series is 75:47. That is already the second-most overtime played in a Stanley Cup Final series, after the 1931 Final (Chicago vs. Montreal, 78:40), and the most played in any postseason series since 2008 (Dallas vs. San Jose, Western Conference Quarterfinals, 78:19).

DID YOU KNOW?

Jaromir Jagr, who became the 21st player (and 19th skater) to appear in 200 playoff games, assisted on both on Patrice Bergeron’s goals in Game 4 and now has 199 career postseason points. Jagr has waited 21 years and 21 days since his last goal in the Stanley Cup Final, but with ten assists, he reached double digits in points for the tenth time in postseason play. That is tied for the fourth-most in NHL history.

Player	# of seasons w/ 10+ points	Seasons	Career single-season high
Wayne Gretzky	14	1980-1997	47 (1985)
Mark Messier	14	1980-1997	34 (1988)
Jean Beliveau	11	1954-1971	22 (1971)
Jaromir Jagr	10	1991-2013	24 (1992)
Glenn Anderson	10	1981-1996	27 (1987)
Paul Coffey	10	1981-1999	37 (1985)

LINKS

· Corey Crawford not worried about his ‘weak’ glove side [Yahoo]

· Tuukka Rask the ultimate straight shooter [Boston Herald]

· Jaromir Jagr’s career coming full circle in Boston [ESPN]

· No letter on sweater, Brent Seabrook emerging as Blackhawks’ natural leader [CBC]

· Patrick Sharp flying under the radar as goals leader [Chicago Sun-Times]

· Blackhawks trying to treat Zdeno Chara as invisible man [SportsNet]

· VIDEO: Bruins fans gather to wish team luck in sendoff [NESN]

· Jaromir Jagr’s Cup pursuit keeps fans in Prague awake [New York Times]