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The NHL released the North American TV broadcast schedule for the round robin games and playoff qualifying round earlier this evening.
The league’s main broadcast partners for these games will be NBC, NBCSN, and NHL Network in the United States, along with SportsNet, CBC, and TVA Sports in Canada.
It’s important to note that the league’s schedule doesn’t include local broadcast affiliates. In fact, in the press release, the league notes “many games will be available in the local market on the team partner regional sports network.”
Put simply, this schedule doesn’t feature NESN, but I’d be shocked if the exhibition game, the three round robin games, and the entire first round of the playoffs weren’t all on NESN — unless the games are on main NBC (those usually get sole billing).
The Bruins’ exhibition game will definitely be on NESN, as it’s listed on their broadcast schedule. That schedule only runs through July 31, so beyond that, we’d be guessing.
Of course, if you don’t live locally, this national broadcast schedule will be your best bet.
July 30, 2020 - Bruins vs. Blue Jackets Exhibition
- 7 PM Eastern
- NESN, NHL Network, TVAS
August 2, 2020 - Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers Round Robin
- 3 PM Eastern
- NBC, Sportsnet, TVAS
August 5, 2020 - Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Round Robin
- 4 PM Eastern
- NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVAS
August 9, 2020 - Bruins vs. Washington Capitals Round Robin
- TBD
- TBD across the board. The league will wait to see which qualifying round series are still going on before determining where this game will live.
If you’re just a fan of hockey in general, you’re in luck: the league’s August 1st kick-off day will feature 5 games from noon to 10:30 PM Eastern, all of which will be available on basic cable.
August 1 NHL Playoff Schedule
- Rangers vs. Hurricanes, 12:00 PM, NBCSN, SN, SN360, TVAS
- Blackhawks vs. Oilers, 3 PM, NBC, SN
- Panthers vs. Islanders, 4 PM, NBCSN, SN1, TVAS
- Canadiens vs. Penguins, 8 PM, NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS
- Flames vs. Jets, 10:30 PM, NBCSN, CBC, SN
That’s shaping up to be quite a day!
The full schedule for the entire thing (keep in mind there are still a whole bunch of TBD’s) can be viewed here as a Google Sheet.