NHL Thanksgiving Showdown 2013 on NBC

NHL Thanksgiving Showdown 2013 on NBC: Haven’t seen enough roughing, elbowing and fighting during your Black Friday shopping excursion? The NHL Thanksgiving Showdown is back for a Friday matinee game on Nov. 29 on NBC at 1pm ET between the N.Y. Rangers and Eastern Conference champion Bruins at TD Garden in Boston.

Press release from the NBC Sports Group below:

HENRIK LUNDQVIST AND NEW YORK RANGERS VISIT ZDENO CHARA AND BOSTON BRUINS IN 2013 NHL THANKSGIVING SHOWDOWN FRIDAY ON NBC

NBC’s NHL Regular-Season Coverage Begins with Rangers-Bruins Friday at 1 p.m. ET

NHL Live’s Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones On-Site from TD Garden in Boston

“The intensity always goes up a notch when the Bruins face the Rangers.” – NBC Sports NHL Analyst Mike Milbury

Bruins Face Red Wings on Wednesday Night Rivalry at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Game Coverage Begins Monday with Wild-Blues at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Followed by Ducks-Stars Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 25, 2013 – NHL regular-season coverage on NBC begins this week when Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers visit Zdeno Chara and the Boston Bruins in the 2013 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown on Friday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. Rangers-Bruins highlights four NHL matchups across NBC and NBCSN, including the Boston Bruins against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday Night Rivalry at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

The Bruins head into the week leading the Atlantic Division (32 pts), while the Rangers enter action on Monday with back-to-back wins in Dallas and Nashville. Last Tuesday, Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask made 43 saves as the Bruins beat the Rangers 2-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have struggled in the series of late, and have not recorded a regulation win against the Bruins in their last 10 matchups, dating back to late in the 2011-12 season.

Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from TD Garden in Boston, Mass. NHL Live host Liam McHugh, and analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones, will be on-site in Boston to provide analysis during intermissions.

Milbury on Rangers-Bruins rivalry: “The intensity always goes up a notch when the Bruins face the Rangers.”

This week’s NHL coverage on NBCSN begins Monday at 8 p.m. ET when Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild visit the St. Louis Blues and Alexander Steen, leading scorer in the Western Conference. Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (analyst) will have the call from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Coverage continues on Tuesday when Corey Perry and the Anaheim Ducks travel to Dallas to face Tyler Seguin and the Stars at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Darryl Reaugh (analyst) will provide live commentary from American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NBCSN’s NHL coverage concludes with an Original Six showdown on Wednesday Night Rivalry, when Red Wings host the Bruins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Strader and Engblom will have the call from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream all 2013-14 NHL regular season games televised on NBC and NBCSN, including this week’s Wild-Blues, Ducks-Stars, Bruins-Red Wings and Rangers-Bruins matchups.

NHL Live, NBC Sports Group live NHL pre-game and post-game studio show, begins at 7 p.m. ET on prior to this week’s games on NBCSN. Liam McHugh will host NHL Live with former players and analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones on Monday and Tuesday. Russ Thaler will host NHL Live with Jones and former player and analyst Anson Carter on Wednesday.

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Mon., November 25
NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
Minnesota at St. Louis NBCSN 8 p.m.
Tue., November 26
NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
Anaheim at Dallas NBCSN 8 p.m.
NHL Top 10 – Toughest Arenas NBCSN 11 p.m.
NHL Top 10 NBCSN 11:30 p.m.
Wed., November 27
NHL Live NBCSN 7 p.m.
Boston at Detroit NBCSN 7:30 p.m.
Thur., November 28
NHL Top 10 NBCSN 6 p.m.
NHL Top 10 NBCSN 6:30 p.m.
Fri., November 29
N.Y. Rangers at Boston NBC 1 p.m.

NBCSN BOASTS STRONG NHL RATINGS TO START 2013-14 SEASON

NBCSN has averaged 595,000 viewers over its first nine exclusive NHL telecasts (mostly Wednesday Night Rivalry), up 31% compared to the exclusive game average to this point in the 2011-12 season (455,000)

NBCSN’s Flyers-Penguins Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup on Nov. 13, in which the Flyers defeated the Penguins 2-1, drew 759,000 average viewers, making it the most-watched November NHL game on cable since 2001 (Flyers-Rangers, 11/14/01), and the most-watched November NHL game on NBCSN (formerly VERSUS). The Flyers-Penguins game was NBCSN’s second most-watched NHL game of the season to date, behind Capitals-Blackhawks (935,000) on opening night.

BRUINS-RANGERS RIVALRY CELEBRATED IN 2013 NHL THANKSGIVING SHOWDOWN NATIONAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN

NBC Sports Group, in partnership with the NHL, enlisted Hollywood director Bobby Farrelly for its multi-platform marketing campaign to promote the 2013 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown featuring the Original Six match-up of the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins this Friday.

The campaign, which includes three 30-second TV commercials and an extended version to run online, features family relatives from Boston and New York who carry their personal Bruins-Rangers rivalry to Thanksgiving dinner. The TV campaign was shot in Boston, and features NHL greats Cam Neely and Mike Richter.

Click here to watch the spot in its entirety (http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/10/30/neely-farrelly-reunite-for-nbcs-thanksgiving-showdown-promos/).

2014 NHL STADIUM SERIES PROGRAMMING CHANGE

The 2014 NHL Stadium Series matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins from Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill., will now air on NBC at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 1, 2014. The game was originally scheduled to air on NBCSN.

This marks the first time since NBC re-acquired NHL rights in 2006 that a regular-season game has been scheduled for primetime on NBC. The 2011 NHL Winter Classic aired in primetime because weather prevented the game from being played at its regularly-scheduled time in the afternoon.

Penguins-Blackhawks will be the fourth and final game in the 2014 NHL Stadium Series, and the second time Chicago has hosted a regular-season outdoor NHL game (2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field). The Penguins will be participating in their third regular-season outdoor NHL game since 2008 (2008 NHL Winter Classic and 2011 NHL Winter Classic).

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will stream NHL coverage via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Games airing on:

· NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
· NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

In addition to its coverage of the opening week of the NHL’s 2013-14 regular season, NBC Sports Group will present comprehensive pre-game and post-game coverage, the NHL Winter Classic, the NHL Stadium Series, and new shoulder programming.

2013-14 REGULAR-SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 103 NHL regular-season games during the 2013-14 season, featuring 13 games on NBC and 90 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. Click here (http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/07/19/nbc-sports-group-to-air-103-nhl-regular-season-games-in-2013-14/) for more information on NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive NHL coverage this season.

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NHL markets such as Boston (Bruins), Philadelphia (Flyers), Washington D.C. (Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and the Bay Area (Sharks), will air more than 300 live NHL games and surround the 2013-14 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S DIGITAL AND SOCIAL NHL COVERAGE

NBC Sports Group will continue to provide hockey fans with up-to-the-minute news, video, and information on the NHL and hockey from around the world via its digital and social properties, including NBCSports.com, Twitter and Facebook. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s Digital and Social NHL coverage. (http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/09/26/nbc-sports-groups-coverage-of-nhl-regular-season-begins-tuesday-october-1/)

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.