NHL on NBC

WATCH LIVE: Penguins host Bruins on NBC

By Sean LeahyJan 19, 2020, 11:45 AM EST

NHL on NBC: Bruins want to be more than ‘teddy bears’ vs. Penguins

By James O'BrienJan 19, 2020, 8:00 AM EST

Bruins try to shed ‘Teddy Bears’ criticism

The B’s didn’t just lose Tuukka Rask to an injury on Tuesday when Emil Bemstrom delivered an errant elbow during Columbus’ 3-0 win. Their perceived lack of a response meant that some lost respect for this group.

NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty went as far as to call the Bruins “teddy bears.”

The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa also opined (sub required) that “The Big, Bad Bruins are dead.”

Bruins players seemed to get the memo in beating the Penguins 4-1 on Thursday. Haggerty and others praised the team’s physical response, including a rare Torey Krug fight against Patric Hornqvist.

“It’s not about going out there and trying to run them out of the rink. Looking at our roster, we don’t have that kind of group anymore,” Krug said after that win, via Haggerty. “But we talked about sticking together and competing harder and sacrificing a little more. That doesn’t mean putting a guy through the glass, but it means going into the corner and having the willingness to get hit, or to hit somebody else, in order to come out of there with the puck. I think that desperation was lost there for a few games, so hopefully this is a step in the right direction and we can kind of grasp that concept again. It’s been part of our DNA for years, so as long as we can get back to that [we’ll be good].”

Some lingering questions for Bruins

Again, you could argue there’s some mild soul-searching going on for Boston.

Blame it on a drop in physicality, or perhaps some other factors, but I’d personally be a little more concerned about dipping underlying numbers.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC]

Looking at sites like Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference, there’s been a dip in key categories. They’ve hogged the puck less often, and have been on the wrong end of high-danger chances (owning just 45.6 percent of that category, via Hockey Reference).

These numbers shouldn’t make anyone pull a fire alarm. It’s not that the Bruins have been terrible. Instead, there are some red flags that the Bruins should improve their play. Sean Tierney (Charting Hockey)’s expected goals share chart captures the sometimes middle-of-the-pack feel to the Bruins’ stats:

Would the Bruins dominate the puck if they add more edge? Maybe, but either way, there are signs that the B’s have room to improve.

Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will have the call of the Bruins-Penguins matchup on NBC from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

WATCH LIVE: Bruins vs. Rangers in NHL Thanksgiving Showdown

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By Sean LeahyNov 29, 2019, 12:30 PM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with the Friday NHL Thanksgiving Showdown between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

New York comes in having won three straight games for the first time this season after a 3-2 win over Carolina on Wednesday night. Boston closed out its two-game Canadian road trip on Wednesday with a 2-1 win at Ottawa for its fifth consecutive victory as the Bruins enter Thanksgiving the top team in the NHL.

The Bruins are tied with the Capitals for the most points in the NHL with 39 (Washington has played one more game). Barring a second-half of the season collapse, the Stanley Cup runner-up from a year ago looks headed towards its fourth straight playoff appearance. The Rangers, meanwhile, are on the outside looking in as the perennial contenders for much of the 21st century have missed the postseason the last two years and are currently five points back of Carolina and Philadelphia for the Wild Card spots.

Typically, the Thanksgiving Day benchmark is a good indication of which teams will be in the postseason. Here are how things have shaped up since the NHL adopted their current playoff format:

Since 2001-02, at least three teams each season have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs after being outside the postseason picture at Thanksgiving.

[COVERAGE OF RANGERS-BRUINS BEGINS AT 1 P.M. ET – NBC]

WHAT: New York Rangers at Boston Bruins
WHERE: TD Garden
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 29, 1 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Rangers-Bruins stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

RANGERS
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin – Filip Chytil – Ryan Strome
Brendan Lemieux – Brett Howden – Kaapo Kakko
Jesper Fast – Boo Nieves – Brendan Smith

Brady Skjei – Jacob Trouba
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
Libor Hajek – Tony DeAngelo

Starting goalie: Henrik Lundqvist

BRUINS
Brad Marchand – David Krejci – David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk – Jack Studnicka – Charlie Coyle
Anders Bjork – Sean Kuraly – Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom – Par Lindholm – Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara – Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug – Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk – Connor Clifton

Starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak

NBC Sports brings NHL Live on the road for Friday’s Thanksgiving Showdown on NBC, with Kathryn Tappen hosting studio coverage on-site from TD Garden alongside analysts Keith Jones and Mike Milbury. Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will call the 2019 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown.

NHL on NBC: Panarin living up to hype in New York

By Joey AlfieriNov 29, 2019, 9:44 AM EST

Free agency can be hit-or-miss in any league, including the NHL, but it’s safe to say that the New York Rangers’ decision to pursue Artemi Panarin hasn’t been a flop.

In his first year with New York, Panarin has posted 12 goals and 32 points in only 23 games. Heading into this season, his career-high in points was 87 (he did that last year with Columbus). So far, he’s on pace to pick up 114 points. That may or may not happen, but there’s no denying that he’s off to a perfect start.

The 28-year-old has managed to pick up at least one point in 19 of the 23 contests he’s suited up in this season. Yeah, he’s been that good. It sure looks like the seven-year, $81.5 million contract they handed him will be money well spent.

“I thought he was going to be impactful, it’s been better than I envisioned,” head coach David Quinn told the New York Post this week. “Not just because of what we’ve seen on the ice but, I’ve talked about this before, what he brings away from the rink. His personality and how much he loves the game. He’s a great example for our young players.”

According to NHL Stats and Information, Artemi Panarin is the first Ranger who has posted at least nine multi-point games in an 11-game span since Mark Messier did so during the 1993-94 season. #NYR

— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) November 28, 2019

The 28-year-old’s outstanding play doesn’t have the Rangers in a playoff spot heading into today’s matinee against the Boston Bruins, but they are in the middle of a positive stretch right now. The Rangers have won three games in a row and four of their last five. They’re currently four points behind the Flyers, who own the final Wild Card spot in the East (New York has two games in hand).

If they find a way to get into the postseason, Panarin will have to be considered one of the front-runners for the Hart Trophy this year. There’s still a long way to go before that happens, but New York is within striking distance right now.

“He’s unreal,” defenseman Tony DeAngelo said. “I think everybody is impressed with him, his skill set, the plays he makes, he plays both sides of the puck, too. Sometimes you just think a guy is all offense. I don’t know if you guys saw, but [Monday] night he had a huge backcheck in the game, too. There was a two-on-one and he backchecked and took two guys out of the play. And then we went on the attack. He’s been really impressive and been great for us so far.”

The Rangers are about to embark on an important stretch of games. Starting today, they’ll play seven of their next nine away from Madison Square Garden. That includes a four-game road trip through Vegas, Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim next month.

If Panarin can help them survive this next stretch of games, they’ll be in decent shape heading into the new year.

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

Ready for some hockey? Green Day song may be new NHL anthem

Associated PressSep 30, 2019, 11:41 AM EDT

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The NHL could be on the way to its version of ”Are You Ready For Some Football?”

The league is announcing a two-year partnership with Green Day that includes an opening song for NBC Sports’ ”Wednesday Night Hockey.” The song, ”Ready, Fire, Aim” isn’t custom-made for the NHL and will be on Green Day’s next album, though it’s likely a matter of time until Green Day or another band follows what Hank Williams Jr. and later Carrie Underwood did for the NFL.

”That I think will probably be the evolution,” NHL chief content officer and executive Vice President Steve Mayer said. ”If you look at our season and how many times this thing is going to be on, it’ll become an anthem. The song, we’re using slap shots, it’s about scoring and speed – ”Fire, Ready, Aim” – I think people will start associating this.”

Green Day’s open will debut Oct. 9. The band will also perform at the All-Star Game in St. Louis in late January, and new singles from its album will be released on ”Wednesday Night Hockey.”

”We’re going to try some bold thing,” Mayer said. ”The performance that we’re talking about at All-Star will be epic.”

Green Day songs will be incorporated into arena mixes around the NHL and provide the soundtrack for much of the season on NBC Sports Network and NBC.

”We think it fits really well with hockey,” NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said. ”The song and the way it’s executed is really fun.”

Fourteen of the band’s upcoming tour stops will come in NHL markets, including Seattle, which will join the league in 2021.

”Green Day, just the energy, how they have this great history but they keep on sort of reinventing themselves, they just work for us,” Mayer said. ”Their music is going to be part of a lot of what we’re doing.”