NBC Sports Announces This Weekend's NHL HOCKEY TV Coverage

Presidents' Trophy contenders will be showcased on NBC Sports Group's NHL doubleheader this Sunday, beginning at Noon ET with the NHL Game of the Week on NBC, when T.J. Oshie and the St. Louis Blues visit Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings. Coverage shifts to NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Rick Nash and the New York Rangers host Ryan Getzlaf and the Western Conference-leading Anaheim Ducks.

All four teams are primed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, and the Blues, Ducks and Rangers are in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, awarded annually to the team with the highest regular-season point total.

The Ducks (45-20-7, 97 pts) are currently tied with the Montreal Canadiens for the most points in the NHL. The Blues (45-20-6, 96 pts) sit in third place in The League, and have taken over the Central Division lead with a 7-2-2 record in their last 11 games. The Rangers (44-18-7, 95 pts) are currently fourth in the NHL, and second in the Eastern Conference behind Montreal, but have played the fewest games in The League (69). Depending upon results from Friday and Saturday night's games, Sunday night's Ducks-Rangers game could be a matchup of the top two teams in The League.

The Presidents' Trophy has been awarded since the 1985-86 season, and the Red Wings (6), Rangers (2), and Blues (1) have combined to win nine Presidents' Trophies in 28 seasons. Last season, Anaheim finished one point behind Boston to narrowly miss clinching its first-ever Presidents' Trophy.

NHL GAME OF THE WEEK - BLUES-RED WINGS - SUNDAY AT NOON ET ON NBC

St. Louis enters this weekend's action having allowed just one goal in its past three games. The Blues have surged past NASHVILLE to take the Central Division lead, and have recorded points in six of their last seven contests (5-1-1). The Red Wings (38-20-11, 87 pts) earned a 5-1 win in Pittsburgh in the NHL Game of the Week last Sunday on NBC, and won the only meeting of the year with the Blues earlier this season, when Pavel Datsyuk scored with 2.2 seconds left in overtime on Jan. 15 in St. Louis.

The Blues skate against Minnesota on Saturday afternoon, while the Red Wings visit the Lightning tonight, ahead of Sunday's Game of the Week matchup on NBC.

Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED 2014 Media Person of the Year Mike 'Doc' Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk and Inside-the-Glass analyst and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire will call have the call from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.

DUCKS-RANGERS - SUNDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Ducks have won three straight games, including a 3-2 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings on NBCSN's Wednesday Nightcap. The Rangers fell 1-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks on NBCSN's Wednesday Night Rivalry, just their fourth regulation defeat since a 1-0 loss on Jan. 29 against Montreal. In their only other matchup this season, Rick Nash netted the eventual game-winner in a 4-1 win in Anaheim on Jan. 7.

Pre-game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live, hosted by Kathryn Tappen, alongside analysts and former players Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick.

Kenny Albert (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call the action from Madison Square Garden.

BLACKHAWKS-RANGERS WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY & KINGS-DUCKS WEDNESDAY NIGHTCAP MATCHUPS POST STRONG NATIONAL & LOCAL RATINGS

NBCSN's Blackhawks-Rangers Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup delivered 787,000 viewers, making it the second most-watched game of the season behind opening night (PHI-BOS, 956,000 viewers. Viewership peaked in the final full quarter hour with nearly one million viewers (10:15-10:30 p.m. ET, 984,000).

Locally, the game delivered a 2.39 rating in the New York market, making the highest-rated NHL regular-season game ever on NBCSN in the market (excluding NYR-NYI Stadium Series matchup). Chicago was the top market for the game (5.29), up 12% from the 2013-14 Blackhawks regular-season average on NBCSN.

In Los Angeles, the Kings-Ducks Wednesday Nightcap CONTEST delivered a 1.12 rating, making it the third highest-rated NHL regular-season game in the market (excluding LA-ANA Stadium Series matchup).

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will stream Sunday's NHL coverage NBC Sports Live Extra via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store.

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