Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Posted: 3:11 p.m.
By Kevin KurzComcast SportsNet
Hockey fans across Philadelphia may want to make sure they reserve their favorite sofa cushion on Sunday.
No fewer than nine hours of the sport will be featured on the NBC and Versus networks, including the Flyers-Rangers matchup on NBC at 12:40 p.m. That game is one of three regional matchups that will be carried by NBC, and will be followed by the Blackhawks-Penguins game at 3:30, and the 2011 Heritage Classic outdoor game in Calgary at 6:00 p.m. when the Flames will host the Montreal Canadiens on Versus.
Other early regional matchups include the Washington Capitals in Buffalo to play the Sabres, to be called by Comcast SportsNet Philadelphias Jim Jackson, and the Detroit Red Wings visiting the Minnesota Wild. The coverage begins at noon.
Its all part of Hockey Day in America, designed to showcase the sport from coast-to-coast, when the games are of utmost importance as teams battle for one of 16 playoff spots.
Its the time of year when the games are the most meaningful ... and we get to see them one after the other, said NBC hockey analyst Mike Milbury, who will be a part of the studio broadcast from Chicagos famed Millennium Park. Its a treat. When games are this meaningful, you know youre going to get every players full attention.
NBC Sports and Versus executive producer Sam Flood explained his inspiration for the project.
NHL
The genesis for this comes through Hockey Day in Canada and just watching what has been done in Canada through the years, and their passion they have for that sport, said Flood. I was up in Canada for the Olympics last year and saw Hockey Day in Canada on CBC, and had been thinking for a while about a way to celebrate hockey in a bigger and better way in the United States.
It has been a thought of mine for a couple of years now doing something bigger with hockey and celebrating it.
Due largely in part to the success of the Winter Classic, which has become a New Years Day tradition for the NHL, the league decided to add a second outdoor game to its slate this year with the 2011 Heritage Classic. The Flames will host the Canadiens at McMahon Stadium on the campus of the University of Calgary, which is normally home to the Canadian Football Leagues Calgary Stampeders.
Former NHL forward and Comcast SportsNet Philadelphias Keith Jones will be on hand as a studio analyst in Calgary, and is looking forward to witnessing the spectacle that is outdoor NHL hockey.
Its hockey back at its true roots. Playing on the pond is something we all did as kids, said Jones. To be there and celebrate hockey with two teams that are fighting for playoff spots, one in the East and one in the West in Montreal and Calgary, I cant imagine that we could have asked for more.
Flood added that with the recent launch of the new NBC Universal, the network can take advantage of new partners.
For the first time, we can take advantage of the NBCU synergies with this new company and tell the audience that there is a big outdoor hockey game north of the border that takes place as soon as Pittsburgh-Chicago ends, explained Flood. So again, weve got this hockey crazed audience celebrating the game for the day and ending up in Calgary for the hockey under the lights in the open air.
And nothing could be more fun than that.
E-mail Kevin Kurz at kkurz@comcastsportsnet.com