NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Notes

I have three press releases which I can group here so you have a jump break to deal with later. Let’s go over what you’ll see this weekend on the NHL TV partners in the US and Canada plus I have some ratings news. Let’s get to it.

First, NBC previews what it will air today and tomorrow.

RED WINGS-COYOTES SERIES CAN BE CLINCHED WITH GAME 6 WIN ON SUNDAY; BLACKHAWKS HOST PREDATORS IN GAME 5 ON SATURDAY

“This is America’s team against the Cinderella team of the year.” – NBC Sports’ Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick on Detroit-Phoenix

“It’s hard to find any network right now that covers a sport better than NBC covers hockey.” – St. Petersburg Times (4-19-10)

NEW YORK – April 22, 2010 – The Detroit Red Wings-Phoenix Coyotes Western Conference Quarter-Final series can be decided this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC Sports when the two teams face off in Game 6. NBC Sports’ second weekend of NHL playoff coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET this Saturday when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of their series.

Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), who is nominated for a 2010 Sports Emmy Award, Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action for both games. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC’s studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury.

The Coyotes host the Red Wings in Game 5 of their 2-2 series Friday night. The winner will have a chance to clinch the series on NBC Sports on Sunday.

MCGUIRE: “This is an old fashioned hockey series. It’s been a lot more physical than people thought. Both teams are extremely well coached. Detroit’s stars have not shied away from the physicality. Phoenix is playing like a really cohesive, tight unit. They play for one another and listen to their coach. They are showing surprising playoff composure.”

EMRICK: “This is America’s team against the Cinderella team of the year. It will be an incredible return if Phoenix’s Shane Doan can come back from his injury. He’s the team’s inspirational leader, but the rest of the Coyotes showed what they could do without him. And we’ll have to see if that professionalism the Red Wings are know for and that we all admire pays off.”

The Predators currently lead their series, 2-1, over the Blackhawks. The teams play Game 4 tonight in Nashville. If the Predators win and take a 3-1 lead, they will be able to clinch the series with a victory over the Blackhawks on Saturday.

MCGUIRE: “The speed of Nashville has surprised Chicago. The goaltending of Pekka Rinne has been a major story, and that’s combined with Nashville’s defensemen taking a lot of the offensive thrust out of Chicago’s game. The Blackhawks need more energy and thump and passion. They’re not playing on the edge like they were earlier in the year.”

EMRICK: “We certainly know that Finland is going to be well taken care of in goal in the next Olympics with these two great goaltenders. Similar to Phoenix last week, it will be good for the country to see Nashville. They’ve earned it. It’s unfair to say that this is David vs. Goliath. But the Predators are definitely on a mission.”

FIRST WEEKEND RECAP: Viewership for NBC Sports’ first weekend of NHL playoff coverage was up five percent compared to the comparable weekend in 2009. Boston-Buffalo and Detroit-Phoenix averaged 1.74 million viewers, up from 1.66 million for New York Rangers-Washington and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh in 2009.

“It’s hard to find any network right now that covers a sport better than NBC covers hockey.” – St. Petersburg Times (4-19-10) after NBC Sports’ first weekend of NHL playoff coverage.

NBCSPORTS.COM: NBCSports.com’s “Star-cam” continues in the playoffs. “Star-cam” tracks a player(s) from both teams throughout each of their shifts. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present bonus material, including “Star-cam” and “Net-cam” and bonus analysis from NBC Sports commentators.

A programming note from CBC plus great ratings on one of
the Comcast regional sports networks coming up right after the jump.

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada will carry Game 6 of the Vancouver-Los Angeles series from the Staples Center on Sunday.

PROGRAMMING ADVISORY: UPDATED SCHEDULE FOR

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, SUNDAY, APRIL 25

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA Round One 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs broadcast schedule for Sunday, April 25 has been updated.

Sunday, April 25

8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT   Hockey Tonight

9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT              Vancouver at Los Angeles (Game Six)         

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues to go live and interactive throughout the Playoffs on CBCSports.ca/stanleycup. Each CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA broadcast is streamed live and on-demand at CBCSports.ca/stanleycup, where hockey fans can catch up to the minute news, features, previews, highlights and analysis for every game.

And Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic continues to rack up the ratings for the Montreal-Washington series. Nice to see Washington become a hockey town.

CAPITALS PLAYOFFS ON COMCAST SPORTSNET RATINGS NOTES:

• Game 4 of the Capitals first-round playoff series against Montreal on April 21 delivered a 5.3 average household rating in the Washington television market, which is equivalent to approximately 125,000 households, the highest rating of the postseason. Combined with the 1.8 average household rating earned in the Baltimore market, the game drew an average combined audience of approximately 147,000 households.

• After four first-round games, Comcast SportsNet’s coverage of the Capitals playoffs has earned a 5.0 average household rating in Washington, which is an increase of 79 percent compared to the first four games of last season’s playoff coverage on the network. In the Baltimore market, the first four games have seen an increase in average household viewership of more than 42 percent compared to last season. For the series, Comcast SportsNet has delivered a combined average audience of approximately 144,000 households in the Washington and Baltimore markets.

• Four of the ten highest-rated Capitals playoff games in Comcast SportsNet history have been the first four games of this year’s first-round match-up versus Montreal. Game 4 tied for the second-highest rated Capitals playoff game in network history and the highest rated non-Game 7.

• CSNwashington.com’s coverage of the Capitals has also earned increased viewers since the beginning of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Since Game 1 (April 15) of the first-round series against the Canadiens, the site has earned an increase of more than 36 percent in unique visitors, with overall visitors and page-views up more than 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively, compared the previous week (April 7 to 14). Compared to the same time-period last year, the network’s website has generated a 251 percent growth in unique visitors and a 180 percent jump in page-views.

• During the 2009-10 NHL regular season, the Capitals delivered their highest-rated season in Comcast SportsNet history and their third consecutive season of double-digit ratings growth on the network, earning a 1.6 average household rating in the Washington market, which is equal to approximately 37,000 households. Combined with the Baltimore DMA, the Capitals attracted an average audience of approximately 45,000 households this season. Since 2006-07, Capitals ratings on Comcast SportsNe
  t have increased more than 300 percent, the largest increase of any NHL team during that span.

CAPITALS 2010 PLAYOFFS – ROUND ONE (MTL)

Game                  WSH HH              PEAK              M 25-54            

Game 1                     5.1                    7.4                   5.9                   

Game 2                     4.4                    6.1                   4.7                   

Game 3                     5.1                    6.4                   5.3                   

Game 4                     5.3                    7.0                   6.2                   

AVG.                        5.0                      –                     5.5                   

2009 ROUND ONE (NYR)                 2008 ROUND ONE (PHI)

Game*                WSH HH                 Game*              WSH HH

Game 1                    3.3                     Game 1                  2.3

Game 2                    2.6                     Game 2                  2.6

Game 3                    2.8                     Game 3                  3.3

Game 4                    2.3                     Game 4                  3.8

AVG.                       2.8                      AVG.                     3.0 

*First Four Games on Comcast SportsNet

HIGHEST-RATED CAPITALS PLAYOFF GAMES ON COMCAST SPORTSNET (WSH DMA):

1.)        5.5   &
nbsp;    MAY 13, 2009               GAME 7 VS. PIT           ECSEMIFINALS

2.)        5.3        APRIL 21, 2010             GAME 4 VS. MTL          EC QUARTERFINALS

            5.3        MAY 11, 2009               GAME 6 VS. PIT           EC SEMIFINALS

            5.3        APRIL 22, 2008             GAME 7 VS. PHI           EC QUARTERFINALS

6.)        5.1        APRIL 19, 2010             GAME 3 VS. MTL          EC QUARTERFINALS

            5.1        APRIL 15, 2010             GAME 1 VS. MTL          EC QUARTERFINALS

8.)        4.7        MAY 9, 2009                 GAME 5 VS. PIT           EC SEMIFINALS

9.)        4.4        APRIL 17, 2010             GAME 2 VS. MTL          EC QUARTERFINALS

10.)       4.0        APRIL 28, 2009             GAME 7 VS. NYR         EC QUARTERFINALS

That’s it.