The NHL returns this weekend on the networks of NBCUniversal, as NBC Sports super-serves hockey fans with a full day’s worth of hockey – roughly 24 hours of game coverage – from the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers on NBC, NBCSN and USA Network.
Pre-game coverage on Saturday begins at 11:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN, leading into Game 1 of the best-of-five series between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes.
NBC Sports’ “24 hours of hockey” this weekend includes some of the NHL’s biggest stars on NBC, starting at 3 p.m. ET, when Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers face Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Seven-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will call the action from his home studio, along with U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Eddie Olczyk from NBC Sports in Stamford, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire from the NHL hub city of Edmonton.
Primetime coverage at 8 p.m. ET on NBC will feature Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins against Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens. Sunday’s coverage on NBC at 3 p.m. ET will feature David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins against Claude Girouxand the Philadelphia Flyers in their Round Robin matchup.
NBC Sports will present up to 120 hours of coverage from the NHL’s 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers on NBC, NBCSN and USA Network beginning tomorrow, highlighted by at least 10 hours of wall-to-wall NHL action each day from August 1-5, comprised of Qualifying Round and Round Robin matchups. In total, more than 25 NHL games will be shown on NBCSN in a seven-day span.
Ahead of the NHL’s Return to Play, Emrick penned a special essay reflecting on the beginning of the 2019-20 NHL season, the 142-day pause in the season caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and a look ahead to the league returning to play on the ice. Click here to watch.
The weekend’s NHL schedule across NBC Sports is below:
| Date | Coverage | Network | Time (ET) | Commentators |
| Sat., August 1 | Game 1 – N.Y. Rangers vs. Carolina | NBCSN | 12 p.m. | John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher |
| Game 1 – Chicago vs. Edmonton | NBC | 3 p.m. | Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire | |
| Game 1 – Florida vs. N.Y. Islanders | NBCSN | 4 p.m. | Gord Miller, AJ Mleczko | |
| Game 1 – Montreal vs. Pittsburgh | NBC | 8 p.m. | John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher | |
| Game 1 – Winnipeg vs. Calgary | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire | |
| Sun., August 2 | Game 1 – Arizona vs. Nashville | USA Network | 2 p.m. | Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire |
| Round Robin – Philadelphia vs. Boston | NBC | 3 p.m. | John Forslund, Mike Milbury, Brian Boucher | |
| Round Robin – St. Louis vs. Colorado | NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. | Kenny Albert, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire |
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| Game 1 – Columbus vs. Toronto | NBCSN | 9 p.m. | Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson | |
| Game 1 – Minnesota vs. Vancouver | NBCSN | 10:30 p.m. | Brendan Burke, AJ Mleczko, Pierre McGuire |
Qualifying Round series are best-of-five and will be contested between the teams seeded 5th through 12th in each conference. The winners of those series will join the top four teams from each conference, who will play round robin games to determine seeding, in the traditional 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs format.
On Monday afternoon, NHL on NBC commentators Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Brian Boucher and Patrick Sharp as well as executive producer Sam Flood, previewed the upcoming 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers on a media conference call. Click here for a full transcript.
Earlier this week, NBC Sports announced commentary and production details ahead of the NHL’s 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. Click here for full details.
