Washington Capitals Host Boston Bruins This Week on WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY
By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 31, 2017
NBC and NBCSN will combine to present six NHL and COLLEGE HOCKEY matchups this week, including a pair of games featuring the NHL-leading Washington Capitals, beginning tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN when Alex Ovechkin and the Caps host Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins on Wednesday Night Rivalry.
Bruins-Capitals kicks off a doubleheader tomorrow night, followed by a matchup between Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche and Jeff Carter and the Los Angeles Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN's Wednesday Nightcap.
Ovechkin and the Capitals will also be featured on the "Star Sunday" NHL Game of the Week on NBC this Sunday at noon ET when they welcome Carter and the Kings to Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Ovechkin and Carter will be the individuals showcased during NBC Sports' "Star Sunday" game coverage.
Coverage on NBCSN also features an intra-state clash on Thursday night, when Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres host Ryan McDonagh and the New York Rangers at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In addition to NHL coverage, NBCSN will present a pair of COLLEGE HOCKEY games on Friday and Saturday, when the No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the No. 12 Vermont Catamounts in a Hockey East clash.
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 this week's NHL action.
Four-time Emmy Award-winner Mike 'Doc' Emrick (play-by-play), U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire ('Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call this week's Bruins-Capitals Wednesday Night Rivalry game from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Olczyk, and McGuire will call Kings-Capitals from Washington on Sunday. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Brian Boucher ('Inside-the-Glass' analyst) call Avalanche-Kings from Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Forslund and McGuire will provide commentary of Rangers-Sabres from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Pre-game coverage on NHL Live begins one hour prior to all games on NBCSN. Liam McHugh will anchor coverage throughout the week, joined by analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, and Jeremy Roenick, as well as NHL insider Bob McKenzie for Wednesday Night Rivalry. Post-game coverage on NHL Overtime will air on NBCSN immediately following this week's games.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY - BRUINS-CAPITALS - 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
Boston (25-21-6, 56 pts) currently sits in third place in the Atlantic Division, trailing Montreal (65 pts) and Ottawa (58 pts). The Bruins come out of the All-Star break looking for a third consecutive win, following victories against Detroit and Pittsburgh. Brad Marchand has averaged nearly a point per game this season, recording 49 points (21g/28a) in 52 games thus far.
Washington (33-10-6) leads the NHL with 72 points, and boasts an 8-1-1 record in its last 10 games, including a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils prior to the All-Star break. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice in Washington's win against New Jersey, and has posted 18 points (6g/12a) in his last 14 games.
WEDNESDAY NIGHTCAP - AVALANCHE-KINGS - 10:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN
The Kings (24-21-4, 52 pts) are coming off back-to-back road wins against the Devils and Hurricanes. Goaltender Peter Budaj stopped 24 of 25 shots against New Jersey in a 3-1 win, followed by a 22-save shutout performance in the Kings' 3-0 win in Carolina. Kings All-Star Jeff Carter is tied for second in the NHL in goals (24) behind only Sidney Crosby (28).
Colorado (13-31-2, 28 pts) is paced offensively by All-Star representative Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the team with 33 points (11g/22a). The Avalanche won their only previous meeting with the Kings earlier this season by a score of 4-1.
"STAR SUNDAY" NHL GAME OF THE WEEK - KINGS-CAPITALS - SUNDAY AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC
Sunday's clash on NBC is the first of two meetings between the Kings and Capitals. In their most recent meeting last March in Los Angeles, the Capitals erased a three-goal third-period deficit to force overtime, before Jeff Carter netted the game-winner in overtime to give the Kings a 4-3 win.
Airing most Sundays through the end of the regular season in April, NBC Sports' "Star Sunday" games will shine a spotlight on a star from each team. The stars selected for each "Star Sunday" will be the focus of pre-game player arrivals and interviews, and will be highlighted in pre-game features and "get-to-know" segments.
RANGERS-SABRES - THURSDAY AT 7:30 ET ON NBCSN
New York (31-17-1, 63 pts) heads into their matchup in Buffalo with the most road victories in the NHL (17). Michael Grabner leads the club with 21 goals, one of seven skaters with at least 10 goals.
Buffalo (20-19-9, 49 pts) is 6-4-0 in its last 10 games, and Jack Eichel has recorded a point per game (4g/2a) in his last six games. Buffalo has defeated New York in both of their previous meetings this season, including a 4-1 win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 3, as Eichel capped the victory with a power-play goal.
COLLEGE HOCKEY - NO. 12 VERMONT AT NO. 17 NOTRE DAME - FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ON NBCSN
Vermont (16-8-2, 8-5-1 Hockey East) is third place in Hockey East and has won six of its last eight games. Notre Dame (14-9-3, 7-5-2 Hockey East) is led offensively by Anders Bjork, who ranks seventh in NCAA Division I men's hockey with 38 points (16g/22a) in 26 games. Game one of the weekend series is Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by the second matchup on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play) and Anson Carter (analyst) will call both matchups from Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Ind.
VIEWERSHIP OF 2017 HONDA NHL ALL-STAR GAME ON NBC UP 42% VS. 2016
NBC Sports' presentation of the 2017 NHL ALL-STAR GAME averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.28 million viewers across NBC and NBC Sports Digital platforms, according to Fast National data released by The Nielsen Company, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
The NBC-only broadcast averaged 2.262 million viewers, up 42% vs. the 2016 NHL ALL-STAR GAME on NBCSN (1.595 million) and up 46% vs. NBC's 2015-16 NHL regular-season average (1.545 million). Click here for more information.
Following is this week's hockey coverage on NBCSN:
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) |
| Wed., February 1 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday Night Rivalry - Boston at Washington | NBCSN | 8 p.m. | |
| Wednesday Nightcap - Colorado at Los Angeles | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 1 a.m. | |
| Thur., February 2 | NHL Live | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo** | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. | |
| NHL Overtime* | NBCSN | 10 p.m. | |
| Fri., February 3 | College Hockey - No. 12 Vermont at No. 17 Notre Dame | NBCSN | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat., February 4 | College Hockey - No. 12 Vermont at No. 17 Notre Dame | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sun., February 5 | "Star Sunday" NHL Game of the Week - Los Angeles at Washington | NBC | 12 p.m. |
*immediately following game coverage
**subject to local blackout
NHL 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 2016-17 NHL regular season 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.
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 and Amazon Fire.
2016-17 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN
NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 106 NHL regular-season games during the 2016-17 season, featuring 14 games on NBC and 92 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Click here 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 2016-17 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.
Image provided by NBC.
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