Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals Host Boston Bruins In Debut Of WEDNESDAY NIGHT HOCKEY On NBCSN

NBC Sports drops the puck on the 2018-19 NHL regular-season on Wednesday, as Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals begin their title defense against Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins in the debut of NBCSN's Wednesday Night Hockey at 7:30 p.m. ET. Coverage continues at 10:30 p.m. ET, when Erik Karlsson makes his debut with the San Jose Sharks against Ryan Getzlaf and the Anaheim Ducks.

Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a special on-site edition of NHL Live, as host Kathryn Tappen, analysts Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick, and NHL insider Bob McKenzie capture the scene outside Capital One Arena prior to the raising of the Capitals' first-ever Stanley Cup championship banner. Clickhere for a preview of NBCSN's Wednesday Night Hockey.

Six-time Emmy Award-winner Mike 'Doc' Emrick, who returns for his 14th season as NBC Sports' lead NHL play-by-play commentator, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk and 'Inside-the-Glass' analyst Brian Boucher will call Bruins-Capitals from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. John Forslund and Emmy Award-winning 'Inside-the-Glass' analyst Pierre McGuirewill have the call of Ducks-Sharks from SAP Center at San Jose in California.

NBC Sports' opening week of NHL coverage continues with a second doubleheader in as many nights on Thursday, as P.K. Subban and the NASHVILLE Predators visit Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers at 7:30 p.m. ET. Coverage continues at 10 p.m. ET, when Marc-Andre Fleury and the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights host Claude Giroux and the Philadelphia Flyers. Pre-game coverage begins with NHL LIVE at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Following is NBCSN's NHL schedule for the opening week of the season:

Date	Coverage	Network	Time (ET)
Wed., October 3	NHL Live	NBCSN	6 p.m.
	Wednesday Night Hockey - Boston at Washington	NBCSN	7:30 p.m.
	Wednesday Night Hockey - Anaheim at San Jose	NBCSN	10:30 p.m.
	NHL Overtime	NBCSN	1 a.m.*
Thurs., October 4	NHL Live	NBCSN	6:30 p.m.
	Nashville at N.Y. Rangers	NBCSN	7:30 p.m.
	Philadelphia at Vegas	NBCSN	10 p.m.
	NHL Overtime	NBCSN	12:30 p.m.*

*Immediately following game coverage

NBC SPORTS 2018-19 NHL SEASON PREVIEW MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL - EMRICK, OLCZYK, MCGUIRE AND FLOOD

NBC Sports Group's NHL broadcast team of Mike "Doc" Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire ('Inside-the-Glass' analyst), as well as NBC Sports Executive Producer and President, Production Sam Flood, previewed the 2018-19 NHL season on a media conference call on Monday. Following are excerpts from the call.

Click here for the full transcript.

McGuire on San Jose acquiring Erik Karlsson: "Erik Karlsson is going to be amazingly lethal. To try to penalty kill against that team is going to be very, very difficult. You'll have to be a master of schematics."

Flood on Wednesday Night Hockey: "The league has changed and grown so much in the last few years that we realized we needed to embrace the new teams, the new stars and the teams that weren't part of those traditional core rivalries. We're celebrating all these young new players that are transforming the game and MAKING IT faster, MAKING IT better, and MAKING IT more exciting. We think it's a great way to embrace all the hockey that's going to be played this year, and Wednesday night will be that destination night for the hockey fan."

McGuire on Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin, No. 1 pick in 2018 NHL Draft:"Rasmus Dahlin is a generational player. I was blown away by how fluid he was. His ability to read and react to the forecheck. Not afraid to take chances. Not too dissimilar to what his head coach was like when he broke into the league in terms of Phil Housley. I think he's going to be a marquee player that needs to be shown on national TV and will be shown on national TV in the United States."

Olczyk on the Vegas Golden Knights: "It's so hard to win at the highest level, and to come so close, obviously in their first year - you think you can win. You think you can attain the top of the mountain. The moves that George McPhee has made, the guys that he has mentioned, bringing in Paul Stastny, making a tremendous trade to get Max Pacioretty - I think it sends an incredible message to the guys inside that room."

Emrick added: "The other thing, too, Pacioretty is not going to be out there and be pressured to be the captain. 158 goals the last five years, and now not living under that kind of pressure."

BRUINS-CAPITALS - TOMORROW AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Washington Capitals return to the ice for the first time after vanquishing the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the 2018 Stanley Cup Final to capture their first-ever title. Captain Alex Ovechkin embarks on his 14th season following a career year in 2017-18, as he led the NHL in both postseason (15) and regular-season goals (49). In addition, Ovechkin surpassed 600 goals for his career and became the second player in the "Expansion Era" to lead the NHL in goals at 32 years or older. Washington is now led by first-year head coach Todd Reirden, who replaced BARRY Trotz following his resignation.

Led by Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak, the Boston Bruins begin their season after falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Second Round of last year's playoffs in five games. The Bruins have yet to advance past the Second Round since losing to the Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. One of the most formidable lines in the league, Marchand, Bergeron and Pastrnak combined for 228 points, 99 goals and 129 assists last season. Pastrnak recorded a career-high 80 points and 35 goals in 82 games.

DUCKS-SHARKS - TOMORROW AT 10:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Anaheim finished second in the Pacific Division last season and qualified for the playoffs for the sixth straight year, tied with the Minnesota Wild for the second-longest active streak in the NHL. Rickard Rakell set a career-high in both points (69) and goals (34), while Getzlaf led the team with 50 assists.

Led by two-time Norris Trophy-winner Erik Karlsson, who was recently acquired in a trade with the Senators, the Sharks boast one of the league's top defensive units. Karlsson and Brent Burns will become the ninth pair of Norris Trophy-winning defensemen to skate together on the same blue line. Karlsson and Burns were the only two defensemen in the league to lead their teams in scoring last year.

PREDATORS-RANGERS - THURSDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The NASHVILLE Predators begin their 2018-19 campaign looking to bounce back after losing to the Winnipeg Jets in seven games in the Second Round of last year's playoffs. Rising talent Filip Forsberg led the Predators in points (64) and finished second in goals (26) behind Viktor Arvidsson (29). Defenseman P.K. Subban embarks on his third season with the Predators after posting a career-high (16) goals last season.

The Rangers finished last in the Metropolitan Division last season, but return a young core this year to surround veteran goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist. David Quinn begins his first-ever season as an NHL head coach on Thursday, after leading Boston University to a 105-68-21 record in five seasons. Quinn coached the likes of Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy and Clayton Keller during his tenure with the Terriers.

Chris Cuthbert (play-by-play) and Boucher ('Inside-the-Glass') will have the call from Madison Square Garden.

FLYERS-GOLDEN KNIGHTS - THURSDAY AT 10 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The Philadelphia Flyers enter the 2018-19 season following a First Round loss to their Metropolitan Division rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs last year. Giroux set a career-high in goals (34), assists (68) and points (102) last season, while teammate Jakub Voracek ranked second on the team in both assists (65) and points (85).

The Vegas Golden Knights return to the ice after advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, where they ultimately fell to the Washington Capitals in five games. Led by veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury andJonathan Marchessault, Vegas recorded the most wins, home victories and road victories by a team in its inaugural season in league history.

Dave Goucher (play-by-play) and McGuire ('Inside-the-Glass) will have the call from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

2018-19 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports will deliver coverage of a record 109 regular-season games during 2018-19, beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Alex Ovechkin and the Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals raise their championship banner to the rafters and host the Boston Bruins. All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app to authenticated users via TV Everywhere.

Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group's comprehensive NHL coverage this season.

STREAMING COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app - NBC Sports Group's live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will provide live streaming coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.

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