Stanley Cup Final starts Monday, potential ‘Ninja Warrior’ conflict
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the San Jose Sharks are poised to close our their respective series in the next 48 hours. Or, perhaps, have the conference finals roll to a Game 7. Either way, the winners will have a relatively quick turnaround, as the NHL’s championship round begins on Monday.
The NHL announced that the 2016 Stanley Cup Final starts on Monday, a.k.a. May 30 a.k.a. Memorial Day a.k.a. ‘sorry we just ruined your beach plans, everyone.’
Media Day for the Final will be held Sunday in either Pittsburgh, San Jose or St. Louis, depending on who advances.
The start time for every game of the Final will be 8 p.m. ET, on NBC Sports Group and CBC and TVA on Canada.
2016 STANLEY CUP FINAL SCHEDULE
(all start times 8 p.m., ET)
Game 1 - Monday, May 30
Game 2 - Wednesday, June 1
Game 3 - Saturday, June 4
Game 4 - Monday, June 6
Game 5* - Thursday, June 9
Game 6* - Sunday, June 12
Game 7* - Wednesday, June 15
Your eyes don’t deceive you: That’s a two-day break between games from Game 2 to Game 3 and then beginning after Game 4, pushing this thing into the middle of June, potentially.
According to our own ginger ninja Sean Leahy, NBC is airing the highly anticipated premiere of “America Ninja Warrior” on June 1. NBC.com indicates that Game 1 of the Final is on NBC on Monday night. Are Games 2 and 3 of the Stanley Cup Final being shifted to NBCSN before shifting back to the main network?
A spokesperson for NBC wouldn't confirm, saying that the TV schedule will be announced when the Final is set.
NBC has shifted the Stanley Cup Final to cable for the last few seasons to give NBCSN some monster ratings. Last year, NBC had the first two games and NBCSN had Games 3 and 4, for example. But it would be a little odd to start it on NBC for one game and then shift to cable, even if it's not without precedent: Game 1 in 2013 was on NBC, and moved to NBCSN for the next two.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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