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Hockey in June!
Bruins-Penguins, Game 1. Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. In the legendary timeslot once occupied by The Golden Girls.
— Steve Lepore (@stevelepore) May 28, 2013
Thanks to the Red Wings and Blackhawks going to a Game 7 on Wednesday, the Eastern Conference Finals will begin on Saturday, June 1.
The first game, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, will likely be a prime-time game; Game 2 will likely be Tuesday, and Game 3 Thursday. The series would have begun on Friday, May 31 had the Red Wings finished off the Blackhawks tonight.
A week's rest can only be advantageous to the Bruins at this point; with Dennis Seidenberg only recently returned from injury and Andrew Ference close to a comeback, the Bruins' defense stands to improve greatly with the additional days off.
Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup Finals should end sometime around July 1, at this rate. If the ECF or WCF goes to a game 7...will this be the latest into the summer the playoffs have ever gone?
It's a little ridiculous, but hey, hockey in June is never a bad thing.
A full schedule should be released soon.