POSTED: Thursday February 19th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OVECHKIN & CAPITALS HOST CROSBY & PENGUINS IN NHL GAME OF THE WEEK, SUNDAY ON NBC
“He’s the best player in the world.” – NBC’s McGuire on Ovechkin
NEW YORK – Feb. 19, 2009 – The Washington Capitals, led by Alex Ovechkin who NBC\‘s Pierre McGuire calls \“the best player in the world,\” host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL Game of the Week, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, presented in high definition. Mike \“Doc\” Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC\‘s studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury on site in the nation\‘s capital. NBC will employ a \“Star-cam\” to follow Ovechkin and Crosby on each of their shifts, which will air simultaneously on NBCSports.com and NHL.com (see more below).
In addition to Ovechkin and Crosby, the game features some of the game\‘s brightest young stars including Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh, who leads the NHL in points with 82 and Capitals defenseman Mike Green, who recently scored a goal in eight straight games, a record for NHL defensemen. Ovechkin\‘s 42 goals lead the NHL, while Crosby ranks third in the league points, one behind Ovechkin. (link to spectacular 42nd Goal- http://www.nhl.tv/team/
The Caps are in second place in the Eastern Conference, while the Pens, Stanley Cup Final runner-ups last season, stand six points out of a postseason berth. Earlier this week in an effort to jump-start its playoff push, Pittsburgh fired its coach Michel Therrien, replacing him with Dan Bylsma.
MCGUIRE ON OVECHKIN: \“He\‘s the best player in the world. Alex just obliterates whoever plays against him. He can take over a game with raw emotion. You have to go all the way back to \‘Rocket\’ Richard to find a player like him.\”
MCGUIRE ON THE COACHING CHANGE: \“The Penguins need to start having fun and playing an up tempo game. It\‘s incumbent on the coach to create roles for the players that will allow them the best chance to succeed.\”
MILBURY ON THE COACHING CHANGE: \“It\‘s an interesting change. He\‘s a guy with no NHL coaching experience but is bright, fair and a good guy. Still, it\‘s a curious call. Is there another one in waiting?
\“The Pens just need to simplify everything. They\‘re going to need their goaltending to be consistently good and their special teams to be superb in order to make the playoffs.\”
NBCSPORTS.COM & NHL.COM PRESENT \“STAR-CAM\”: NBCSports.com and NHL.com will offer a \“Star-cam\” in conjunction with NBC broadcasts, which will follow one player on each team throughout each of his shifts. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present a post-game show with game highlights and highlights from \“Star-cam\” and \“Net-cam,\” along with analysis from McGuire and Milbury.
FLEX SCHEDULING & CONSISTENT 12:30 PM ET START TIME: For the first time, \“Game of the Week\” broadcasts have a consistent start time – 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays (except for April 12, 2 p.m. start time). For the second straight season, the NHL and NBC will utilize flex scheduling and will be able to select from up to four games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will select one of those games as the \“Game of the Week\” to be broadcast during the NBC window. The other games will remain available to the teams\’ regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC\‘s broadcast window.
NBC will also broadcast weekend games throughout the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and up to five Stanley Cup Final games (Games 1, 2, 5, 6 & 7).
REMAINING 2009 NHL GAME OF THE WEEK REGULAR SEASON FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
(All Games Announced At Least 13 Days Prior)
Sunday, Feb. 22, 12:30 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh @ Washington
Sunday, March 8, 12:30 p.m. ET
Boston @ New York Rangers
Pittsburgh @ Washington
Phoenix @ New York Islanders
Colorado @ Chicago
Sunday, March 15, 12:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia @ New York Rangers
Detroit @ Columbus
Boston @ Pittsburgh
Sunday, March 22, 12:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh
New Jersey @ Boston
Los Angeles @ Chicago
Sunday, April 5, 12:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota @ Detroit
Pittsburgh @ Florida
Atlanta @ Washington
Sunday, April 12, 2 p.m. ET
New York Rangers @ Philadelphia
Detroit @ Chicago
Boston @ New York Islanders
St. Louis @ Colorado
Members of the media can get more information about NBC Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at www.nbcumv.com.
# # #
Keywords · Alex Ovechkin · Pittsburgh Penguins · NBC
Name: Brian Walker
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-5533
URL: http://www.nbcuni.com
Please refer all questions to the company listed above issuing the press release. SFC will not be able to assist you with any inquiries and disclaims any content in these press releases.
Print This Press Release
