Washington Capitals to Host Pittsburgh This Week on NBCSN's WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY

NBC Sports presents a classic Metropolitan Division clash on Wednesday Night Rivalry this week, when Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins this Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

This week's NHL slate is also highlighted by NBCSN's "Star Sunday" matchup on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, featuring Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild vs. Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks.

NBCSN's coverage begins tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET, when Vladimir Tarasenko and the St. Louis Blues host former captain David Backes and the Boston Bruins, and continues Thursday at 8 p.m. ET when the Wild host Max Pacioretty and the Montreal Canadiens.

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 Penguins-Capitals Wednesday Night Rivalry game from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Olczyk, and McGuire call this week's Wild-Blackhawks Star Sunday CONTEST at United Center in Chicago, Ill.

Albert and McGuire will provide commentary of Bruins-Blues tomorrow night from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., and Albert and Brian Boucher ('Inside-the-Glass' analyst) will call Habs-Wild from Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Pre-game coverage on NHL LIVE begins one hour prior to all games except for Sunday, when coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. ET. Liam McHugh and Kathryn Tappen will anchor coverage throughout the week, joined by analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, and Brian Boucher, 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 - PENGUINS-CAPITALS - 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Pittsburgh (26-8-5, 57 pts) has won five consecutive games and has outscored its opponents 22-10 during the streak. The Penguins defeated Tampa Bay on Sunday by a score of 6-2, as six different skaters scored for Pittsburgh, and Sidney Crosby added a pair of assists. Crosby leads the league with 26 goals, and is tied for second in points (44) behind Connor McDavid (48).

Washington (25-9-5) also carries a five-game winning streak into this week's action, and visits Montreal tonight. The Capitals ended Columbus' 16-game winning streak last Thursday with a 5-0 win, led by Braden Holtby's shutout performance, which he followed up with a second straight shutout in a 1-0 win in Ottawa on Saturday. Washington has allowed the fewest goals in the NHL (79), while Pittsburgh has scored the second most (137).

STAR SUNDAY - WILD-BLACKHAWKS - SUNDAY AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN presents its second "Star Sunday" matchup this week featuring the top two teams in the Western Conference. The Wild (25-9-5, 55 pts) are second in the conference and are coming off a 2-1 win in Anaheim on "Star Sunday" on NBCSN, as Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon scored for Minnesota in the win. The Wild have won 14 of their last 16 games.

Chicago (26-12-5, 57 pts) have won three consecutive games heading into this week's action, including a 5-2 win over NASHVILLE on Sunday, capped by Ryan Hartman's natural hat trick in the third period. Patrick Kane has followed up his MVP season in 2015-16 with 44 points in 43 games thus far in 2016-17, tied for second-most in the league.

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.

NBC Sports' "Star Sunday" game telecasts will include an iso cam on the stars to be utilized for game analysis during intermissions, and scoreboard graphics will let viewers know when these stars are on the ice.

BRUINS-BLUES - TOMORROW AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Boston (21-17-5, 47 pts) sits second in the Atlantic Division behind Montreal (56 pts) and travels to St. Louis tonight tied for the second-most road wins in the NHL (12). Former Blues captain David Backes returns to St. Louis for the first time to face his former team, and scored his 11th goal of the year in the Bruins 4-3 overtime loss to Carolina on Sunday.

St. Louis (21-14-5, 47 pts) is 16-4-4 at home this season, and is coming off a 4-3 win against Dallas on Saturday. Vladimir Tarasenko is fifth in the league in goals (20) and tied for fourth in points (43).

CANADIENS-WILD - THURSDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

Montreal (25-9-6, 56 pts) leads the Atlantic Division and has won three consecutive games, including a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Max Pacioretty is tied for sixth in the league in goals (19), and has scored five goals in his last five games. Minnesota won both games against Montreal in 2015-16 to sweep the season series.

NHL SUNDAY SHOOTOUT - WEEKLY PROGRAM RECAPPING THE WEEK THAT WAS -SUNDAY AT 10:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN FOLLOWING WILD-HAWKS

NBCSN's NHL Sunday Shootout, a 30-minute program that recaps the biggest NHL moments of each week, airs this Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET, immediately following Wild-Blackhawks. NHL Sunday Shootout will serve as a weekly roundup for NHL fans on most Sunday nights leading into the postseason. In addition to insight and analysis recapping the week around the league, the show will preview the upcoming week and feature recurring segments, including:

NHL Live Roundtable - NBCSN's NHL LIVE studio crew will discuss the hot topics in the league, analyzing the latest news and biggest stories from the previous seven days;
Game Of The Week - NHL Sunday Shootout relives the best game of each week, utilizing game audio from the local telecast, in-game audio from players and coaches, and post-game interviews;
NHL Best of 7 - A countdown of the Top 7 highlight-reel goals, saves and passes from the week;
Inside The Numbers - A deep dive highlighting the statistical achievements and milestones reached each week, as well as those on the horizon in the coming days.
Paul Burmeister hosts this week's show alongside analyst Anson Carter.

Following is this week's hockey coverage on NBCSN:

Date Coverage Network Time (ET)
Tues., January 10 NHL LIVE NBCSN 7 p.m.
Boston at St. Louis** NBCSN 8 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
Wed., January 11 NHL LIVE NBCSN 7 p.m.
Wednesday Night Rivalry - Pittsburgh at Washington NBCSN 8 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
Thur., January 12 NHL LIVE NBCSN 7 p.m.
Montreal at Minnesota NBCSN 8 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 11 p.m.
Sun., January 15 NHL LIVE NBCSN 6:30 p.m.
Star Sunday - Minnesota at Chicago NBCSN 7 p.m.
NHL Overtime* NBCSN 9:30 p.m.
NHL Sunday Shootout NBCSN 10:30 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.

To post a comment, you must register and login.