WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY Continues this Week on NBCSN

NBC Sports Group presents five NHL matchups this week on NBC and NBCSN, highlighted by an Original Six Wednesday Night Rivalry showdown between Milan Lucicand the Boston Bruins and Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. In addition, NBC presents the NHL Game of the Week on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, when T.J. Oshie and the St. Louis Blues host Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks.

NBCSN's Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage begins Tuesday night at 11 p.m. ET, with a brand new episode of NHL Rivals, chronicling historic moments in the Bruins-Rangers Original Six rivalry.

This week's coverage begins tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild host the Blackhawks. Thursday's coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET, featuring Pavel Datsyukand the Detroit Red Wings vs. Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. NBCSN's coverage concludes Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. ET, when the Bruins host P.K. Subban and the Montreal Canadiens.

Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED 2014 Media Person of the YearMike 'Doc' Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk and Emmy Award-winning 'Inside-the-Glass' analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call for Sunday's Blackhawks-Blues NHL Game of the Week on NBC, and this week's Bruins-Rangers Wednesday Night Rivalry matchup on NBCSN.

NHL LIVE begins at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, and 30 minutes prior to puck drop of all other NBCSN games this week. Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen will host this week's coverage alongside former players and analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick and Anson Carter. NHL insider Bob McKenzie will join NBCSN's Wednesday Night Rivalry coverage to provide the latest in-depth news from around the league.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY - BRUINS-RANGERS - WEDNESDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Wednesday night's matchup between the Bruins and Rangers is just the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Boston defeated New York by a score of 3-0 on Jan. 15, led by Tuukka Rask's 30-save shutout performance. The Bruins (27-16-7, 61 pts) and Rangers (28-15-4, 60 pts) sit just one point apart in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Rangers face the Florida Panthers tonight, and are coming off a 4-1 win over Carolina on Saturday, led by Rick Nash's team-leading 29th goal of the season. The Bruins have recorded at least one point in 13 of their last 14 games (9-1-4), including a 3-1 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

NHL RIVALS - BRUINS-RANGERS - TUESDAY AT 11 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN analyzes the historic Original Six rivalry between the Bruins and Rangers with a brand new episode of NHL RIVALS on Tuesday night at 11 p.m. ET. The episode looks back at some of the most memorable moments between the two teams over the past 90 years, both on and off the ice, including one of the biggest blockbuster trades in professional sports history, and the night when tempers spilled over the boards at Madison Square Garden in 1979.

Following are quotes on the 1975 trade between New York and Boston, which sent Rangers stars Jean Ratelle and Brad Park, and Joe Zanussi to Boston for Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais:

Esposito: "(Head Coach) Don Cherry calls at 7:30 in the morning in Vancouver, we don't play until the next night. Knock on the door, in comes 'Grapes', Donny Cherry, with ugly pajamas, by the way - real ugly. He comes in, and Bobby (Orr) is behind him with a t-shirt and a pair of slacks on, and he walks over to the window. Don's looking me and says, 'I've gotta tell you Phil, you've been traded.' I went, 'Are you kidding me? If you say New York, I'm going to jump out that window.' He says, 'Bobby, open the window.'"

Former Bruins head coach and GM Harry Sinden: "I arrived home the day that trade was made, and the top news anchor in the city was sitting on my living room couch waiting for me. There was no buying that deal from the fans in this town. Not at that time."

Esposito on first game with Rangers following trade: "It was a very difficult, difficult thing...we play the game, we lost 7-5 to the Oakland Seals. And after the game in the dressing room, and I told this to the guys on that team, guys didn't seem to care whether they won or lost."

Following are quotes regarding the Dec. 23, 1979 brawl at Madison Square Garden following the Bruins-Rangers game, in which members of the Bruins went into the stands:

Former Bruin Mike Milbury: "The moment this (fan) reached over and grabbed (Stan) Jonathan's stick, all the focus became not on Bruins vs. Rangers, but Bruins vs. New Yorkers...that was the time when there were three networks, three legitimate networks, and it was the lead story for three days - 'Bruins beat up fans at Madison Square Garden.'"

Former Ranger Ron Duguay: "I think more than anything else, we were very grateful, because now the Bruins were up in the stands, we don't have to fight them, and the fans can fight them all they want."

NHL GAME OF THE WEEK - BLACKHAWKS-BLUES - SUNDAY AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

The Blackhawks and Blues enter this week's play jockeying for position towards the top of the Central Division. St. Louis (32-13-4, 68 points) have recorded a point in 11 straight games (10-0-1), including a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday, including 17 points from T.J. Oshie in that span (7g/10a). Chicago (31-17-2, 64 pts) visits Minnesota tomorrow night on NBCSN, and Patrick Kane has recorded 14 points (6g/8a) in his last 10 games to move into a tie with Dallas' Tyler Seguin for second place in the NHL points race. Two teams have split their previous two meetings this season.

Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (Inside-The-Glass analyst) will call the action from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

BLACKHAWKS-WILD - TOMORROW AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

This week's coverage begins in Minnesota tomorrow night, as the upstart Wild host the Blackhawks. Minnesota (23-20-6, 52 pts) has rebounded with points in six of its last seven games, led by seven goals byZach Parise, and strong play in net by recently acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who was named the NHL's "Third Star" last week with a 3-0-0 record and just three goals allowed in those starts.

Pat Foley (play-by-play) and Eddie Olczyk (analyst) will have the call from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

RED WINGS-AVALANCHE - THURSDAY AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Detroit (29-12-9, 67 pts) enters this week one point behind Tampa Bay for the Eastern Conference lead, and boast a 9-2-0 record in their last 11 games, including a 4-1 win over the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders last Saturday. Colorado (21-18-11, 53 pts) has points in six of its last seven games (3-1-3), including a 3-0 victory over Central Division-leading NASHVILLE last Friday.

Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (analyst) will have the call from the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.

CANADIENS-BRUINS - SUNDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

This week's coverage concludes in Boston, as the Bruins host the Canadiens in the latest chapter of their rivalry. Montreal (32-14-3, 67 pts) is tied with Detroit for second place in the Atlantic Division, and has won five of its last six games, including back-to-back 1-0 victories over the Rangers and Capitals. Montreal has dominated the season series thus far, winning all three meetings to this point.

Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (analyst) will call the action from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

Following is this week's NHL telecast schedule on NBC and NBCSN. Games are subject to local blackout.

Date	Coverage	Network	Time (ET)
Tues., February 3	NHL Live	NBCSN	7:30 p.m.
	Chicago at Minnesota	NBCSN	8 p.m.
	NHL Rivals - Bruins-Rangers	NBCSN	11 p.m.
Wed., February 4	NHL Rivals - Bruins-Rangers (Encore)	NBCSN	6:30 p.m.
	NHL Live	NBCSN	7 p.m.
	Wednesday Night Rivalry - Boston at N.Y. Rangers	NBCSN	8 p.m.
Thurs., February 5	NHL Live	NBCSN	8:30 p.m.
	Detroit at Colorado	NBCSN	9 p.m.
Sun., February 8	NHL Game of the Week - Chicago at St. Louis	NBC	12:30 p.m.
	NHL Live	NBCSN	7 p.m.
	Montreal at Boston	NBCSN	7:30 p.m.

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