Sunday, February 16, 2025

NBC’s exclusive 2021 NHL coverage will feature a record 16 games on broadcast TV

Since NBC regained NHL rights in 2006, they’ve often shown Sunday games on broadcast NBC. They started by picking up regional telecasts in 2006-07, then moved to largely showing national exclusive games beginning in 2007-08. And that’s going to lead to an interesting twist in the 2021 season; while that season has been shortened to 56 games from the normal 82, broadcast NBC will carry 16 exclusive games, more than ever before. That was included in NBC’s release Tuesday on their exclusive-game schedule:

  • Once a week – NBC Sports will showcase the NHL 16 times on NBC – once every week on average during the 2020-21 season – beginning Sunday, January 17, featuring the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s the most-ever NHL regular-season games on NBC.
  • Fan-favorite rivalries – The NHL on NBC schedule features a number of rivalries, including a Valentine’s Day date between the Capitals and Penguins, plus Blackhawks-Red Wings, Bruins-Rangers, and Blues-Avalanche matchups.
  • “Final flex Saturday” – the final game on the NHL on NBC schedule on Saturday, May 8, is currently TBD and will feature the most compelling game with playoff implications.

It’s rather remarkable to see a record level of NHL games on NBC’s broadcast network in a significantly-shortened season. But with that, it’s worth keeping in mind that many networks have less other programming in general at the moment thanks to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with that, though, this is quite a level of broadcast TV exposure for the NHL. Here’s the schedule so far:

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NHL ON NBC 2020-21 SCHEDULE

Date Away Home
Sun., January 17 Washington Pittsburgh
Sun., January 24 Detroit Chicago
Sun., February 7 Philadelphia Washington
Sun., February 14 Washington Pittsburgh
Sat., February 20 Vegas Colorado
Sun., February 21 Philadelphia Boston
Sun., February 28 Boston N.Y. Rangers
Sun., March 7 Buffalo N.Y. Islanders
Sun., March 28 N.Y. Rangers Washington
Sun., April 4 Detroit Tampa Bay
Sat., April 17 Pittsburgh Buffalo
Sun., April 18 Washington Boston
Sat., April 24 Colorado St. Louis
Sun., April 25 Boston Pittsburgh
Sun., May 2 Tampa Bay Detroit
Sat., May 8 TBD TBD

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