Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada Announce 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Broadcast Schedule

The stage is finally set – and what a spectacular stage it is. Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada this morning announced its 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round broadcast schedule, featuring five Canadian NHL teams for the first time since 2004, and wall-to-wall coverage of all eight series.

The first puck drops on Wednesday, April 15 with four games, including two all-Canadian matchups:

• 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT – Ottawa Senators @ Montreal Canadiens (CBC)
• 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT – New York Islanders at Washington Capitals (Sportsnet)
• 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT – Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators (Sportsnet 360)
• 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT – Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks on (CBC)

For the first time ever, all Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final games will be available on Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE. (See full broadcast schedule below).

Sportsnet’s and Hockey Night in Canada’s deep roster of hockey commentators will continue to provide best-in-class coverage and will be assigned as follows:

Studio

• George Stroumboulopoulos will anchor the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Hockey Central studio, along with Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey and Nick Kypreos
• Don Cherry and Ron MacLean will host Coach’s Corner
• Sportsnet will also provide extensive pre-game and post-game coverage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs across all platforms and will include hosts Daren Millard,Jeff Marek, Brad Fay and Leah Hextall, and analysts P.J. Stock, John Shannon, Damien Cox , Doug MacLean, Billy Jaffe and Scott Morrison

Game Crews

Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators (starts Wed. April 15 at 7 p.m. ET/4p.m. PT on CBC)

• Play-by-play: Paul Romanuk; Game Analysts: Mike Johnson and Glenn Healy; Reporter: David Amber
• Chris Johnston covers the series for sportsnet.ca
• GamePlus features available in Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE

Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames (starts Wed. April 15 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on CBC)

• Play-by-play: Jim Hughson; Game Analysts: Craig Simpson; Reporter: Scott Oake
• Mark Spector covers the series for sportsnet.ca
• OMNI (Punjabi): Play-by-play: Harnarayan Singh; Game Analysts: Randip Janda, Bhupinder S. Hundal
• Calgary Radio: all games available on Sportsnet 960 The FAN
  • Play-by-play: Derek Wills ; Analyst: Peter Loubardias
• GamePlus features available in Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE

Anaheim Ducks vs. Winnipeg Jets (starts Thursday, April 16 at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet)

• Play-by-play: Dave Randorf; Game Analyst: Garry Galley; Reporter: Cassie Campbell-Pascall
• Damien Cox covers the series for sportsnet.ca
• GamePlus features available in Rogers NHL GameCentre LIVE

New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (starts Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on CBC)

• Play-by-play: Bob Cole; Game Analyst: Greg Millen; Reporter: Christine Simpson

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings (starts Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.ET/4:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet)

• Play-by-play: Rick Ball; Game Analyst: John Garrett; Reporter: Dan Murphy

Digital – Sportsnet.ca 

• In addition to series coverage by Johnston (Montreal/Ottawa), Spector (Vancouver/Calgary), and Cox (St. Louis/Winnipeg), staff writers Luke Fox, Jeff Simmons, Mike Johnson, Kristina Rutherford and Scott Lewis will provide extensive playoffs coverage
• Friedman will cover the biggest story lines in his weekly column, 30 Thoughts

Sportsnet magazine

The latest edition of Sportsnet magazine, on newsstands now, features a Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview and is available for tablets and smartphones on Next Issue and through the App Store or Google Play. Features include:

• Tough to beat: Lots of things are up for debate in the playoffs, but not this. There’s no goalie on Earth better than Carey Price
• On an island: There’s more pressure on John Tavares than ever before. Luckily, he’s built himself to handle it
• Unusual suspects: No one expected them to compete, let alone contend. Here are the weirdest numbers from the Flames’ extremely weird season

Broadcast Schedule

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Montreal Canadiens (A1) vs. Ottawa Senators (W1)

New York Rangers (M1) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (W2)

Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (A3)

Washington Capitals (M2) vs. New York Islanders (M3)

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Vancouver Canucks (P2) vs. Calgary Flames (P3)

***All games available in Punjabi on OMNI

Anaheim Ducks (P1) vs. Winnipeg Jets (W2)

Nashville Predators (C2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (C3)

St. Louis Blues (C1) vs. Minnesota Wild (W1)

*If necessary
**Schedule subject to change

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