10 Kings games to be televised nationally; NBC schedule

The NBC Sports Group will air 105 regular season NHL games in the 2015-16 season, at least 10 of which will feature the Los Angeles Kings:

Wednesday, October 7: KINGS vs San Jose, 7:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, November 3: KINGS at St. Louis, 5:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, December 22: KINGS vs San Jose, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, January 4: KINGS at Colorado, 6:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Wednesday, January 27: Colorado at KINGS, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Thursday, February 4: Anaheim at KINGS, 7:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Sunday, February 28: KINGS at Anaheim, 6:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, March 14: KINGS at Chicago, 5:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, March 22: KINGS at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, March 28: KINGS at San Jose, 7:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
-all times PT | CLICK HERE for NBC’s full schedule and release

For what it’s worth, the Kings were broadcast 13 times on the NBC Sports Group during the defense of their Stanley Cup campaign last season. A to-be-determined game (in addition to the Penguins-Flyers matinee) will be aired on Saturday, April 9, the final day of the regular season when all 30 NHL teams are in action. Los Angeles hosts Winnipeg at 7:00 p.m. in the season finale, which is a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

Interestingly, there’s only one 8:00 p.m. local start on the Kings’ schedule this season, and it’s not (at this point) due to be televised nationally. It’s the Saturday, February 27 home game against Buffalo, which begins less than 24 hours before the Kings’ Sunday evening game in Anaheim on February 28. That’s interesting difficult scheduling; I have an email in to check on this, but keep in mind NBC’s release stipulates that “bonus games may be added to the schedule once the season is underway.”

No Kings games will be broadcast on “big” NBC. The only NBC games featuring Western Conference teams are the Stadium Series games between Chicago and Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium on February 21 and Detroit and Colorado at Coors Field on February 27, and the February 28 game between Washington and Chicago at the United Center on February 28. The 2016 Winter Classic will pit Montreal against Boston at Gillette Stadium at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, January 1.

All-Star Weekend in Nashville takes place between Friday, January 29 and Sunday, January 31 and will feature the NHL Fantasy Draft, All-Star Skills Competition and All-Star Game. The entire weekend will be broadcast on NBCSN.

Broadcast notes, courtesy of NBC:

-Opening Night doubleheaders on Oct. 7 on NBCSN, beginning with a Wednesday Night Rivalry Original Six matchup between the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers at 8 p.m. ET, as the Blackhawks raise their 2015 Stanley Cup Championship banner to the United Center rafters. Opening Night coverage continues with a Wednesday Nightcap at 10:30 p.m. ET, when the Los Angeles Kings host the rival San Jose Sharks.

-The 2015-16 regular season on NBCSN will feature 24 Wednesday Night Rivalry telecasts, plus six Wednesday Nightcaps that will showcase Western Conference teams, including the Kings, Sharks and Avalanche.

-The Blackhawks, Rangers, Penguins, Red Wings, Wild, Avalanche and Blues will each make 12 appearances across NBC and NBCSN, followed by four teams that will appear 11 times. The Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning will make eight appearances across NBC and NBCSN.

-Rangers-Penguins, Blackhawks-Wild, Capitals-Flyers, Penguins-Capitals and Kings-Sharks are the most featured regular-season matchups, each appearing three times across NBC and NBCSN.

-NBCSN will provide coverage of the first NHL matchup on U.S. soil between 2015 top NHL draft picks Connor McDavid (No. 1, Edmonton) and Jack Eichel (No. 2, Buffalo), when the Buffalo Sabres host the Edmonton Oilers on March 1.

-57 of NBC and NBCSN’s 105 telecasts feature at least one Western Conference team, and every U.S. team will appear on NBC or NBCSN in the regular season.

-Bonus games may be added to the schedule once the season is underway.

-NHL studio programming throughout much of the 2015-16 season will originate from NBC Sports Group’s state-of-the-art International Broadcast Center, located in Stamford, Conn. NHL Live, NBCSN’s live pre- and post-game show with highlights and analysis of NHL matchups, will air before and after most games. A 60-minute edition of NHL Live will air prior to most games, while a 30-minute post-game show, NHL Overtime, will air immediately following most games.

-NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets and connected TVs – will stream comprehensive coverage of the NHL regular season via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV.