The quest for hockey’s Holy Grail is officially set to get underway and Sportsnet is ready to deliver exclusive English-language wall-to-wall coverage of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round to Canadian hockey fans coast-to-coast. All Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage will be available on TV on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet ONE or CBC and via live stream on Sportsnet NOW and Rogers NHL LIVE. Select Toronto Maple Leafs games will be available on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, with select additional Stanley Cup Playoff games available along the Sportsnet Radio Network, including Sportsnet 960 The FAN and Sportsnet 650. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.
“This is the time of year that every hockey player plays for, and every hockey fan waits for,” said Greg Sansone, Vice-President, Sportsnet Programming, Rogers Media. “The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in sport to win, and along the way there is always intrigue, surprise, heartbreak, joy and every emotion in between. Sportsnet is there to deliver this content to fans across Canada. We’ve made a commitment to hockey fans to bring them every story from every angle of every game and we take this responsibility very seriously.”
As the home of hockey, Sportsnet’s coverage of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins Wednesday, April 11 with the opening game of three series, including the Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets on Sportsnet:
- Minnesota Wild @ Winnipeg Jets, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, Sportsnet
- Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, CBC
- Los Angeles Kings @ Vegas Golden Knights, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, CBC
The remaining five series will debut on Thursday, April 12, including the Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins on CBC:
- Toronto Maple Leafs @ Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, CBC
- New Jersey Devils @ Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, Sportsnet
- Columbus Blue Jackets @ Washington Capitals, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT, Sportsnet 360
- Colorado Avalanche @ Nashville Predators, 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT, Sportsnet
- San Jose Sharks @ Anaheim Ducks, 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT, Sportsnet 360
Beginning Wednesday, Hockey Central Tonight will tee up the post-season action every night with a half-hour pre-show on Sportsnet. Hosted by Ron MacLean alongside Elliotte Friedman, Kelly Hrudey and Nick Kypreos, Hockey Central Tonight will feature exclusive analysis and updates from reporters across the league.
Sportsnet’s multiplatform coverage of the 2018 NHL post-season includes:
Television
- From the opening puck-drop to the hoisting of Lord Stanley’s Cup, Sportsnet’s world-class roster of hosts, reporters and analysts will bring Canadian hockey fans closer to the action at ice-level:
o Host Ron MacLean will be joined by analysts Friedman, Hrudey and Kypreos to deliver in-depth analysis throughout the playoffs
o David Amber and analysts Doug MacLean and Colby Armstrong will also provide up-to-the-minute analysis during Sportsnet’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs first round
o Don Cherry joins Ron MacLean for regular installments of Coach’s Corner
o Harnarayan Singh, Randip Janda, Bhupinder Hundal, and Harpreet Pandher deliver select Saturday night games on Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition to hockey fans coast-to-coast on OMNI
- Nightly editions of Sportsnet Central will have full highlights, analysis and reaction from every series with additional analysis from John Shannon and Scott Morrison.
- Tim & Sid will set the tone weekdays, beginning at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet NOW.
Radio
- Sportsnet 590 The FAN will air three Toronto Maple Leafs playoff games in the first round – Game 1 on April 12, Game 2 on April 14 and Game 6 on April 23 (if necessary). The radio broadcast will see veteran announcer Joe Bowen calling the play-by-play alongside analyst Jim Ralph. Gord Stellick and Todd Hlushko host Leafs Nation post-game coverage following every Leafs game.
- Select additional Stanley Cup Playoff games will be available along the Sportsnet Radio Network, including on Sportsnet 960 The FAN and Sportsnet 650.
Digital
- All Stanley Cup Playoff broadcasts will be available to hockey fans on-the-go via Sportsnet NOW and Rogers NHL LIVE.
- Real-time highlights and daily recaps of every game during the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet’s Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
- Fans can join the discussion with Sportsnet’s Hockey Insiders on Facebook Live broadcasts before every round.
- Sportsnet Fantasy Hockey Pool Playoffs Edition, presented by RAM. Fans build their roster for a chance to win the ultimate grand prize – an all-new 2019 RAM 1500 and $25,000 cash.
- Readers can stay up-to-date with the biggest storylines with Friedman’s popular 31 Thoughts blog following each round and weekly instalments of the 31 Thoughts podcast with Friedman and Jeff Marek.
- On the eve of the playoffs, Sportsnet Insiders will share their predictions in the annual Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions piece.
- Sportsnet’s NHL Insiders Chris Johnston (Toronto Maple Leafs), Mark Spector (Winnipeg Jets), Luke Fox (Winnipeg Jets) and Iain MacIntyre (Vegas Golden Knights), will provide daily analysis and commentary from first round series, exclusively on Sportsnet.ca and the Sportsnet app.
- Analysis-meets-humour in regular contributions from Down Goes Brown.