The NHL Network (1975-1979 version)
Encyclopedia
The NHL Network was an American television syndication package that broadcast National Hockey League
games from the through seasons. The NHL Network was distributed by the Hughes Television Network
.
of the country.
) or Saturday afternoons. The package was offered to local stations with no rights fee. Profits would be derived from the advertising, which was about evenly split between the network and the local station. The Monday night games were often billed as The NHL Game of the Week. Viewers in New York City, Buffalo, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Los Angeles got the Game of the Week on a different channel than their local team's games. Therefore, whenever a team had a “home” game, the NHL Network aired the home team's broadcast rather than their own.
Initially, the Monday night package was marketed to ABC
affiliates; the idea being that ABC carried Monday-night NFL football
in the fall and (starting in May ) Monday-night
Major League Baseball in the spring and summer, stations would want hockey to create a year-round Monday night sports block. But very few ABC stations picked up the package.
During the season, the NHL Network showed selected games from the NHL Super Series
(the big one in that package was Red Army at Philadelphia, but the package didn't include Red Army at Montreal
on New Year's Eve 1975, which was seen only on CBC
) as well as some playoff games. During the season, the NHL Network showed 12 regular season games on Monday nights plus the All-Star Game
. By (the final season of the NHL Network's existence), there would be 18 Monday night games and 12 Saturday afternoon games covered.
The 1979 Challenge Cup
replaced the All-Star Game. It was a best of three series between the NHL All-Stars against the Soviet Union national squad. Only the third period of Game 2, which was on a Saturday afternoon, was shown on CBS
as part of The CBS Sports Spectacular. The network, the show, and their sponsors had a problem with the rink board advertising that the NHL sold at Madison Square Garden
, and refused to allow them to be shown on TV. As a result, CBS' viewers were unable to see the far boards above the yellow kickplate, and could only see players' skates when the play moved to that side of the ice. Games 1 and 3 were shown on the NHL Network, where the advertising was no problem.
. Apparently, markets with only three stations were reluctant to give up prime time
programming slots. Ultimately, the plan failed, as not only did they not gain new markets, many stations that already carried the Monday game didn't pick up the Saturday one. A few of the markets in the Eastern Time Zone that aired the Saturday afternoon games included Boston
, Buffalo
, New York
, Washington
and Springfield, MA
.
In addition, the NHL gave stations the option of starting the Saturday afternoon broadcasts at 1 Eastern time or starting at 2 EST, with the full open and a first period summary preceding live action of the final two periods. WDCA
(the Washington, D.C.
affiliate) and WWLP
(the Springfield, MA affiliate) took that option. WPGH
in Pittsburgh
and WTCG in Atlanta
didn't pick up the Saturday package, leaving their markets without Saturday coverage. WPGH and WTCG also showed the Monday games on tape delay
at midnight and 11:30 p.m. ET, respectively. Meanwhile, by 1978, WUAB in Cleveland
and WBFF
in Baltimore dropped hockey coverage completely (Cleveland lost its NHL team, the Cleveland Barons, that year after
just three seasons in that city, which may have led WUAB to drop the package).
Also in Buffalo
, the Saturday afternoon games during the months of January and February were on WGR
. Meanwhile, the Saturday games during the month of March were on WUTV
. WUTV carried the Monday Night Hockey package, while WGR was the over-the-air station
for the Buffalo Sabres
. In New York, WOR
did not carry Saturday games in the months of January or February. Meanwhile, WNEW
(also in New York) carried the March Saturday games (at 2 p.m.). In both Buffalo and New York, college basketball and World Championship Tennis
knocked the NHL off its usual Monday night carrier.
In , KBJR
in Duluth
picked up the Saturday afternoon package and dropped the Monday night games. In that same season, WHMB
in Indianapolis
joined the network with Saturday afternoon games at 2 p.m. and Monday night games at 11 p.m. In addition, the Iowa PBS stations had dropped the NHL by this point.
on the NHL Network marked the first time that the NHL's championship series was nationally televised in its entirety in the United States. Starting in the 1978 playoffs, the NHL Network began simulcasting many games with Hockey Night in Canada
. In these games, Dan Kelly
, who was the NHL Network's primary play-by-play broadcaster, was assigned to do play-by-play along with HNIC color commentators. This for example, happened in Game 7 of the quarterfinal series between the Toronto Maple Leafs
and New York Islanders
(April 29), where Kelly teamed up with Brian McFarlane
. The entire 1979 Stanley Cup Finals
between the Montreal Canadiens
and New York Rangers
was simulcast as well. However, had that final went to Game 7, then that game would have been broadcast on ABC. Had that seventh game come about, then Boston Bruins
broadcaster Bob Wilson would have done play-by-play, former Philadelphia Flyers
star Bobby Clarke
would have been analyst, Jim McKay
would have been between-periods host, and Frank Gifford
would have handled postgame interviews from the winning team's dressing room.
. About a couple of dozen other stations carried the games. The network had 47 stations for the season.
Despite the presence of the Minnesota North Stars
, there was no NHL Network affiliate in the Minneapolis
-St. Paul area.
. Meanwhile, the ratings for the NHL Network in its first month of existence were a 3.1 in New York
, 1.9 in Los Angeles
, and a 1.3 in Chicago
. By , the Monday night games were seen by about 1 million viewers; 300,000 of which were in the Boston
area. Also in 1978–79, the 2 p.m. ET version of the Saturday broadcasts (with the first period cut out) was picked up by all participating affiliates except WSBK-TV Boston (which carried the entire game), and often, the cities whose local teams were playing if the local station aired the NHL Network version of a game instead of a locally-produced broadcast.
Marv Albert
was the lead play-by-play man during the first season. During this particular period, he was paired with a local guest announcer. They typically, would split play-by-play duties.
For Game 4 of the 1976 quarterfinal playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens
and Chicago Black Hawks
(April 16), Marv Albert and Brad Palmer called the game. Albert handled play-by-play for the first and third period while Palmer, the Black Hawks' TV host, handled play-by-play for the second period. They in the process, acted as analysts for each other. Played at Chicago Stadium
, the game was blacked out
in the Chicago area.
Meanwhile, Marv Albert also during the 1976 playoffs, teamed with Tim Ryan
(who split play-by-play duties with Albert) and George Michael
for Game 1 of the New York Islanders
-Buffalo Sabres
series (April 11) and Terry Crisp for Game 7 of the Toronto Maple Leafs
-Philadelphia Flyers
series (April 25). Terry Crisp also worked alongside play-by-play men Gene Hart and Don Earle
on Game 4 of the aforementioned Toronto-Philadelphia series (April 17).
The analysts for the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals
were active players and each game featured a different analyst alongside Marv Albert. These players were Stan Mikita
, Garry Unger
, Chico Resch
and Curt Bennett
. This format continued in 1977
with Stan Mikita, Garry Unger, Chico Resch, Don Awrey
replacing Curt Bennett, who instead worked with Marv Albert and Dan Kelly
on Game 4 of the Philadelphia Flyers
-Boston Bruins
playoff series (May 1).
Dick Stockton
served as host for a season. Meanwhile, Stan Fischler
was on the broadcasts as an intermission analyst.
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
games from the through seasons. The NHL Network was distributed by the Hughes Television Network
Hughes Television Network
Hughes Television Network was an American television network created by businessman Howard Hughes.It never lived up to its dream of being the nation's fourth television network, following the demise of the DuMont Television Network...
.
Conception
After being dropped by NBC after the season, the NHL had no national television contract in the United States. In response to this, the league put together a network of independent stations covering approximately 55%Percentage
In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 . It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, or the abbreviation “pct”. For example, 45% is equal to 45/100, or 0.45.Percentages are used to express how large/small one quantity is, relative to another quantity...
of the country.
Coverage summary
Games typically aired on Monday nights (beginning at 8:00 p.m. ETEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) or Saturday afternoons. The package was offered to local stations with no rights fee. Profits would be derived from the advertising, which was about evenly split between the network and the local station. The Monday night games were often billed as The NHL Game of the Week. Viewers in New York City, Buffalo, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Los Angeles got the Game of the Week on a different channel than their local team's games. Therefore, whenever a team had a “home” game, the NHL Network aired the home team's broadcast rather than their own.
Initially, the Monday night package was marketed to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliates; the idea being that ABC carried Monday-night NFL football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
in the fall and (starting in May ) Monday-night
Monday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
Major League Baseball in the spring and summer, stations would want hockey to create a year-round Monday night sports block. But very few ABC stations picked up the package.
During the season, the NHL Network showed selected games from the NHL Super Series
Super Series
The Super Series were exhibition games between Soviet teams and NHL teams that took place on each NHL opponents' home ice in North America from 1976 to 1991. The Soviet teams were usually club teams from the Soviet hockey league. The exception was in 1983, when the Soviet National Team represented...
(the big one in that package was Red Army at Philadelphia, but the package didn't include Red Army at Montreal
1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 67th season. The Canadiens won their 19th Stanley Cup in club history.-Regular season:Henri Richard's number 16 was retired December 10, 1975 by the Canadiens in his honour.-Game log:-Regular season:...
on New Year's Eve 1975, which was seen only on CBC
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
) as well as some playoff games. During the season, the NHL Network showed 12 regular season games on Monday nights plus the All-Star Game
29th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The Wales Conference All-Star team defeated the Campbell Conference 7-5 after opening up a 6-1 lead in the second period.Peter Mahovlich was voted most valuable player of the game after scoringa goal and three assists.- Wales Conference All-Stars :...
. By (the final season of the NHL Network's existence), there would be 18 Monday night games and 12 Saturday afternoon games covered.
The 1979 Challenge Cup
1979 Challenge Cup
The 1979 Challenge Cup was an international ice hockey series of games between the Soviet national ice hockey team and a team of all-stars from the National Hockey League, held in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season.The Challenge Cup, unlike its...
replaced the All-Star Game. It was a best of three series between the NHL All-Stars against the Soviet Union national squad. Only the third period of Game 2, which was on a Saturday afternoon, was shown on CBS
NHL on CBS
NHL on CBS is a former television program that broadcast National Hockey League games on CBS Sports. CBS was the first American television network to broadcast NHL games.-1956–1960 version:...
as part of The CBS Sports Spectacular. The network, the show, and their sponsors had a problem with the rink board advertising that the NHL sold at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, and refused to allow them to be shown on TV. As a result, CBS' viewers were unable to see the far boards above the yellow kickplate, and could only see players' skates when the play moved to that side of the ice. Games 1 and 3 were shown on the NHL Network, where the advertising was no problem.
Saturday afternoon coverage
When Saturday afternoon games were added, the NHL said that they would start at 1 p.m. and end by 4 p.m. ETEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. Apparently, markets with only three stations were reluctant to give up prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
programming slots. Ultimately, the plan failed, as not only did they not gain new markets, many stations that already carried the Monday game didn't pick up the Saturday one. A few of the markets in the Eastern Time Zone that aired the Saturday afternoon games included Boston
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
, Buffalo
WKBW-TV
WKBW-TV, channel 7, is the ABC affiliate for the Buffalo, New York television market, and is one of many local Buffalo TV stations seen over-the-air and on cable in Canada. Its transmitter is located at 8909 Center Street in Colden. The station is owned by the Granite Broadcasting Corporation, who...
, New York
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
, Washington
WDCA
WDCA, virtual channel 20, is a television station in Washington, D.C.. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, WDCA is a sister station to Fox network outlet WTTG , and is affiliated with the co-owned MyNetworkTV programming service...
and Springfield, MA
WWLP
WWLP is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts that is licensed to Springfield. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on Provin Mountain in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam. The station can also be seen...
.
In addition, the NHL gave stations the option of starting the Saturday afternoon broadcasts at 1 Eastern time or starting at 2 EST, with the full open and a first period summary preceding live action of the final two periods. WDCA
WDCA
WDCA, virtual channel 20, is a television station in Washington, D.C.. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, WDCA is a sister station to Fox network outlet WTTG , and is affiliated with the co-owned MyNetworkTV programming service...
(the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
affiliate) and WWLP
WWLP
WWLP is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts that is licensed to Springfield. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on Provin Mountain in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam. The station can also be seen...
(the Springfield, MA affiliate) took that option. WPGH
WPGH-TV
WPGH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter at its studios on Ivory Avenue in the city's Summer Hill section. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS and Comcast channel 7...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
and WTCG in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
didn't pick up the Saturday package, leaving their markets without Saturday coverage. WPGH and WTCG also showed the Monday games on tape delay
Broadcast delay
In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...
at midnight and 11:30 p.m. ET, respectively. Meanwhile, by 1978, WUAB in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and WBFF
WBFF
WBFF, channel 45, is a Fox-affiliated television station located in Baltimore, Maryland. WBFF is the flagship station of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which also operates Baltimore's CW affiliate, WNUV-TV , through a local marketing agreement...
in Baltimore dropped hockey coverage completely (Cleveland lost its NHL team, the Cleveland Barons, that year after
1977–78 Cleveland Barons season
The 1977–78 Cleveland Barons season was the team's second and final season in the NHL. The relocation to Cleveland had not cured the attendance problems that had plagued the franchise from its inception in Oakland as the Seals in 1967...
just three seasons in that city, which may have led WUAB to drop the package).
Also in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, the Saturday afternoon games during the months of January and February were on WGR
WGRZ-TV
WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
. Meanwhile, the Saturday games during the month of March were on WUTV
WUTV
WUTV, virtual channel 29, is the Fox-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 14. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a duopoly with the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV...
. WUTV carried the Monday Night Hockey package, while WGR was the over-the-air station
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
for the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
. In New York, WOR
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
did not carry Saturday games in the months of January or February. Meanwhile, WNEW
WNYW
WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
(also in New York) carried the March Saturday games (at 2 p.m.). In both Buffalo and New York, college basketball and World Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990...
knocked the NHL off its usual Monday night carrier.
In , KBJR
KBJR-TV
KBJR-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin that is licensed to Superior, Wisconsin. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter west of Downtown Duluth in Hilltop Park...
in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
picked up the Saturday afternoon package and dropped the Monday night games. In that same season, WHMB
WHMB-TV
WHMB-TV is a predominantly Christian television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana market on digital channel 16. They also run some secular general entertainment a few hours daily . The station is owned by LeSEA Broadcasting, also known as World Harvest Broadcasting.The organization was...
in Indianapolis
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
joined the network with Saturday afternoon games at 2 p.m. and Monday night games at 11 p.m. In addition, the Iowa PBS stations had dropped the NHL by this point.
Playoff coverage
The 1976 Stanley Cup Finals1976 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
on the NHL Network marked the first time that the NHL's championship series was nationally televised in its entirety in the United States. Starting in the 1978 playoffs, the NHL Network began simulcasting many games with Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
. In these games, Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
, who was the NHL Network's primary play-by-play broadcaster, was assigned to do play-by-play along with HNIC color commentators. This for example, happened in Game 7 of the quarterfinal series between the Toronto Maple Leafs
1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the sixty-first season of the franchise, fifty-first as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs made the playoffs and won two series before losing the semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens.-NHL Draft:-Game log:...
and New York Islanders
1977–78 New York Islanders season
The 1977–78 New York Islanders season was the sixth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Player stats:...
(April 29), where Kelly teamed up with Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St...
. The entire 1979 Stanley Cup Finals
1979 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1979 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first appearance since . The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win...
between the Montreal Canadiens
1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 70th season. The franchise won 52 games and had 11 ties, but finished second overall in the league. The New York Islanders finished first overall by one point over the Canadiens. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the fourth consecutive time,...
and New York Rangers
1978–79 New York Rangers season
The 1978–79 New York Rangers season was the 53rd season for the franchise. The highlight of the season was participating in the Stanley Cup Finals.-Offseason:The Rangers fired their general manager, John Ferguson, and replaced him with Emile Francis...
was simulcast as well. However, had that final went to Game 7, then that game would have been broadcast on ABC. Had that seventh game come about, then Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
broadcaster Bob Wilson would have done play-by-play, former Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
star Bobby Clarke
Bobby Clarke
Robert Earle Clarke, OC , better known as Bobby Clarke or, in later life, Bob Clarke, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team...
would have been analyst, Jim McKay
Jim McKay
James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
would have been between-periods host, and Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
would have handled postgame interviews from the winning team's dressing room.
| Year | Round | Teams | Games | Play-by-play | Color commentator Color commentator A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the... (s) |
| 1976 | Quarterfinals | New York Islanders 1975–76 New York Islanders season The 1975–76 New York Islanders season was the fourth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-Game log:-Playoffs: ... -Buffalo 1975–76 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... |
Game 1 | Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... and Tim Ryan Tim Ryan (sportscaster) Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director... (split play-by-play) |
George Michael George Michael (sportscaster) George Michael was an American sportscaster best known nationally for The George Michael Sports Machine, his long-running sports highlights television program. Originally named George Michael's Sports Final when it began as a local show in Washington, D.C... |
| Philadelphia 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' ninth season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers recorded the best record in team history with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76... -Toronto 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs season saw the Maple Leafs finish in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 34 wins, 31 losses, and 15 ties for 83 points... |
Games 4, 7 | Gene Hart and Don Earle Don Earle Donald Earle Clement was an American ice hockey announcer.Earle, who got his start broadcasting high school hockey games on radio, called Boston Bruins games on WSBK-TV from 1967-1971.... (split-play-by-play, Game 4) Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... (Game 7) |
Terry Crisp | ||
| Montreal 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season The 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 67th season. The Canadiens won their 19th Stanley Cup in club history.-Regular season:Henri Richard's number 16 was retired December 10, 1975 by the Canadiens in his honour.-Game log:-Regular season:... -Chicago 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season The 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' fiftieth season in the NHL, and the club was coming off a 37-35-8 record in 1974-75, earning 82 points, and finishing in third place in the Smythe Division... |
Game 4 | Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... and Brad Palmer Brad Palmer Brad Donald Palmer is a retired professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Minnesota North Stars with the 16th pick in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He played two seasons with the North Stars and then played one year with the Boston Bruins.-External links:... (split play-by-play) |
|||
| Semifinals | Philadelphia 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' ninth season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers recorded the best record in team history with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76... -Boston 1975–76 Boston Bruins season The 1975–76 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 52nd season in the NHL. The season involved trading Phil Esposito to the New York Rangers.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending-Roster:... |
Game 3 | Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... |
Phil Esposito Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito, OC is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have... |
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| 1977 | Preliminary round | Toronto 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's sixtieth season, fiftieth as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs finished in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 33 wins, 32 losses and 15 ties for 81 points... -Pittsburgh 1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins season The 1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their tenth in the National Hockey League. They finished third in the Norris Division for the third season in a row. In the playoffs, the Penguins were eliminated in the first round. Changes occurred in management and ownership. In December 1976, Baz... |
Game 3 | Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... and Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... (split play-by-play and analyst duties) |
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| Quarterfinals | Philadelphia 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' tenth season in the National Hockey League . They finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 48 wins, 16 losses, and 16 ties for 112 points.... -Toronto 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's sixtieth season, fiftieth as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs finished in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 33 wins, 32 losses and 15 ties for 81 points... |
Games 4, 6 (WTAF's feed WTXF-TV WTXF-TV, virtual channel 29 , is an owned-and-operated station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania... ) |
Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... (Game 4) Don Earle Don Earle Donald Earle Clement was an American ice hockey announcer.Earle, who got his start broadcasting high school hockey games on radio, called Boston Bruins games on WSBK-TV from 1967-1971.... and Gene Hart (split play-by-play duties, Game 6) |
Steve Jensen Steve Jensen Steven Allan Jensen is a former professional ice hockey player and Owner and Director of Heartland Hockey Camps. Jensen was an offensive player who appeared in 438 games in the National Hockey League from 1976-82... (Game 4) Terry Crisp (Game 6) |
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| Semifinals | Boston 1976–77 Boston Bruins season The 1976–77 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 53rd season in the NHL. The season involved participating in the Stanley Cup finals.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:... -Philadelphia 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' tenth season in the National Hockey League . They finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 48 wins, 16 losses, and 16 ties for 112 points.... |
Games 1, 4 | Marv Albert Marv Albert Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called... and Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... (split play-by-play and analyst duties for Game 1) |
Curt Bennett Curt Bennett Curt Alexander Bennett is a former American ice hockey forward, who played in the National Hockey League as well as for the United States national ice hockey team in the 1970s.... (Game 4) |
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| Montreal 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season The 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. They set an NHL record for most points in a season by a team with 132 points... -New York Islanders 1976–77 New York Islanders season The 1976–77 New York Islanders season was the fifth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-Game log:-Player stats:Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed... |
Games 3-4 | Tim Ryan Tim Ryan (sportscaster) Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director... and Jiggs McDonald Jiggs McDonald John Kenneth "Jiggs" McDonald is a sportscaster who did play-by-play announcing for NHL games for almost 40 years. In 1990, McDonald received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame.... (split play-by-play and analyst duties) |
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| 1978 | Preliminary round | New York Rangers 1977–78 New York Rangers season The 1977–78 New York Rangers season was the fifty-second season of the New York Rangers franchise. The Rangers slipped to last in the Patrick but qualified for the playoffs by having one of the top twelve records in the league. The Rangers lost in the first round of the playoffs.-Offseason:The... -Buffalo 1977–78 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... |
Game 3 (CBC's feed Hockey Night in Canada Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League... ) |
Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
Brian McFarlane Brian McFarlane Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St... |
| Quarterfinals | Detroit 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season The 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 46th season.-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending... -Montreal 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens season The 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 69th season. The Canadiens won their third straight Stanley Cup, and 21st overall.-Game log:-Stanley Cup:Boston Bruins vs... |
Game 2 (CBC's feed Hockey Night in Canada Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League... ) |
Danny Gallivan Danny Gallivan Danny Gallivan was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster.-Early life and career:Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gallivan began his broadcast career at a local radio station in Antigonish, Nova Scotia while attending St. Francis Xavier University... |
Red Storey Red Storey Roy Alvin "Red" Storey, CM was a Canadian football player and National Hockey League referee.-Early life and career:... and Dick Irvin, Jr. Dick Irvin, Jr. James Dickinson Irvin, Jr. is a retired Canadian sports broadcaster and author. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 under the broadcasters category1... |
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| Philadelphia 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 11th season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers lost their hold on the Patrick Division in 1977–78 and settled for second place. Tom Bladon's 8 points in a game against the Cleveland Barons on December 11 set an NHL record... -Buffalo 1977–78 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... |
Game 3 | Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
Ed Giacomin | ||
| Toronto 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the sixty-first season of the franchise, fifty-first as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs made the playoffs and won two series before losing the semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens.-NHL Draft:-Game log:... -New York Islanders 1977–78 New York Islanders season The 1977–78 New York Islanders season was the sixth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Player stats:... |
Game 7 (CBC's feed Hockey Night in Canada Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League... ) |
Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
Brian McFarlane Brian McFarlane Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St... |
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| Semifinals | Toronto 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the sixty-first season of the franchise, fifty-first as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs made the playoffs and won two series before losing the semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens.-NHL Draft:-Game log:... -Montreal 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens season The 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 69th season. The Canadiens won their third straight Stanley Cup, and 21st overall.-Game log:-Stanley Cup:Boston Bruins vs... |
Game 2 (CBC's feed Hockey Night in Canada Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League... ) |
Danny Gallivan Danny Gallivan Danny Gallivan was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster.-Early life and career:Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gallivan began his broadcast career at a local radio station in Antigonish, Nova Scotia while attending St. Francis Xavier University... |
Don Marshall Don Marshall Donald Robert Marshall is a retired Canadian ice hockey forward. He was born in Verdun, Quebec.Don played in the National Hockey League from 1951 to 1972. During this time, he played for the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens... and Dick Irvin, Jr. Dick Irvin, Jr. James Dickinson Irvin, Jr. is a retired Canadian sports broadcaster and author. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 under the broadcasters category1... |
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| Boston 1977–78 Boston Bruins season The 1977–78 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 54th season in the NHL. The season involved participating in the Stanley Cup finals.-NHL Draft:-Regular season:... -Philadelphia 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 11th season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers lost their hold on the Patrick Division in 1977–78 and settled for second place. Tom Bladon's 8 points in a game against the Cleveland Barons on December 11 set an NHL record... |
Game 3 | Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
Glenn Resch | ||
| 1979 | Preliminary round | Pittsburgh 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins season The 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their twelfth in the National Hockey League. They finished second in the Norris Division, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1977... –Buffalo 1978–79 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... |
Game 3 | Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
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| Quarterfinals | Boston 1978–79 Boston Bruins season The 1978–79 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 55th season.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending-Quarter-finals:Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins... –Pittsburgh 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins season The 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their twelfth in the National Hockey League. They finished second in the Norris Division, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1977... |
Game 3 | Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
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| Semifinals | New York Rangers 1978–79 New York Rangers season The 1978–79 New York Rangers season was the 53rd season for the franchise. The highlight of the season was participating in the Stanley Cup Finals.-Offseason:The Rangers fired their general manager, John Ferguson, and replaced him with Emile Francis... -New York Islanders 1978–79 New York Islanders season The 1978–79 New York Islanders season was the seventh season for the franchise in the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders finished first overall by one point over the defending Stanley Cup champions Montreal Canadiens in the regular season standings.... |
Game 2 | Dan Kelly Dan Kelly (sportscaster) Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St... |
Lou Nanne Lou Nanne Louis Vincent Nanne is a retired ice hockey defenceman and general manager who has made significant contributions to hockey in the United States.- Early life :... |
1976–77
| Date | Teams |
|---|---|
| January 3 | Philadelphia 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' tenth season in the National Hockey League . They finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 48 wins, 16 losses, and 16 ties for 112 points.... at Montreal 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season The 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. They set an NHL record for most points in a season by a team with 132 points... |
| January 10 | Philadelphia at New York Islanders 1976–77 New York Islanders season The 1976–77 New York Islanders season was the fifth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-Game log:-Player stats:Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed... |
| January 17 | Montreal at Boston 1976–77 Boston Bruins season The 1976–77 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 53rd season in the NHL. The season involved participating in the Stanley Cup finals.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:... |
| January 25 | All-Star Game 30th National Hockey League All-Star Game The Wales Conference All-Star team defeated the Campbell Conference for the third consecutive year. Rick Martin scored two goals in the third period including the game winning goal with under two minutes to play, and was voted most valuable player.... at Vancouver |
| January 31 | Toronto 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's sixtieth season, fiftieth as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs finished in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 33 wins, 32 losses and 15 ties for 81 points... at Atlanta 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season The 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season was the fifth season for the franchise.-Game log:-Skaters:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta... |
| February 7 | Toronto at Buffalo 1976–77 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... |
| February 14 | St. Louis 1976–77 St. Louis Blues season The 1976–77 St. Louis Blues season was the tenth for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues won the Smythe Division title with a record of 32 wins, 39 losses and nine ties, good for 73 points, and received a first-round bye in the 1977 NHL Playoffs... at Philadelphia |
| February 21 | Atlanta at Montreal |
| February 28 | Cleveland 1976–77 Cleveland Barons season The 1976–77 Cleveland Barons season was the first season for this franchise in Cleveland, after nine seasons in the San Francisco Bay Area as the Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals... at St. Louis |
| March 7 | Toronto at Philadelphia |
| March 14 | Los Angeles 1976–77 Los Angeles Kings season -Regular season:The 1976-77 season was similar to the year before for the Kings. Dionne continued to lead the offense, the defense was unspectacular but solid, but it was a season of roster turnover as some aging veterans departed and others lost significant time to injuries... at Montreal |
| March 21 | Montreal at Boston |
| March 28 | St. Louis at Minnesota 1976–77 Minnesota North Stars season -Game log:-External links:... |
Monday night package
| Date | Teams |
|---|---|
| January 9 | Montreal 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens season The 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 69th season. The Canadiens won their third straight Stanley Cup, and 21st overall.-Game log:-Stanley Cup:Boston Bruins vs... at Philadelphia 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 11th season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers lost their hold on the Patrick Division in 1977–78 and settled for second place. Tom Bladon's 8 points in a game against the Cleveland Barons on December 11 set an NHL record... |
| January 16 | Atlanta 1977–78 Atlanta Flames season The 1977–78 Atlanta Flames season was the sixth season for the franchise.-Game log:-Skaters:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta... at Philadelphia |
| January 24 | All-Star Game 31st National Hockey League All-Star Game The Wales Conference All-Star team defeated the Campbell Conference for the fourth consecutive year. Gilbert Perreault scored at 3:35 of sudden death overtime for the winning goal... from Buffalo (Tuesday night) |
| January 30 | New York Islanders 1977–78 New York Islanders season The 1977–78 New York Islanders season was the sixth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Player stats:... at Buffalo 1977–78 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... |
| February 6 | St. Louis 1977–78 St. Louis Blues season The 1977–78 St. Louis Blues season was the eleventh for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to the season, the team's founders, Sid Salomon, Jr. and Sid Salomon III, sold the team to pet food giant Ralston Purina, and the St. Louis Arena became the Checkerdome... at Philadelphia |
| February 13 | Toronto 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season The 1977–78 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the sixty-first season of the franchise, fifty-first as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs made the playoffs and won two series before losing the semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens.-NHL Draft:-Game log:... at Buffalo |
| February 20 | Buffalo at Montreal |
| February 27 | Atlanta at New York Rangers 1977–78 New York Rangers season The 1977–78 New York Rangers season was the fifty-second season of the New York Rangers franchise. The Rangers slipped to last in the Patrick but qualified for the playoffs by having one of the top twelve records in the league. The Rangers lost in the first round of the playoffs.-Offseason:The... |
| March 6 | Montreal at Buffalo |
| March 13 | Montreal at Minnesota 1977–78 Minnesota North Stars season The 1977–78 Minnesota North Stars season was the 11th season for the North Stars. The North Stars were in financial trouble, and at season's end had the worst record in the league at 18-53-9... |
| March 20 | New York Islanders at Philadelphia |
Saturday afternoon package
| Date | Teams |
|---|---|
| January 14 | New York Islanders 1977–78 New York Islanders season The 1977–78 New York Islanders season was the sixth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Player stats:... at Washington 1977–78 Washington Capitals season -Game log:-Playoffs:The Capitals still had several years to go before they would win enough games to qualify for the playoffs.-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending... |
| January 21 | Detroit 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season The 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 46th season.-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending... at Boston 1977–78 Boston Bruins season The 1977–78 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 54th season in the NHL. The season involved participating in the Stanley Cup finals.-NHL Draft:-Regular season:... |
| January 28 | Buffalo 1976–77 Buffalo Sabres season -Game log:-References:... at Pittsburgh 1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins season The 1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their tenth in the National Hockey League. They finished third in the Norris Division for the third season in a row. In the playoffs, the Penguins were eliminated in the first round. Changes occurred in management and ownership. In December 1976, Baz... |
| February 4 | Buffalo at Minnesota 1976–77 Minnesota North Stars season -Game log:-External links:... |
| February 11 | Philadelphia 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season The 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' tenth season in the National Hockey League . They finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 48 wins, 16 losses, and 16 ties for 112 points.... at Boston (postponed due to snow) |
| February 18 | Atlanta 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season The 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season was the fifth season for the franchise.-Game log:-Skaters:Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta... at New York Islanders |
| February 25 | Colorado 1976–77 Colorado Rockies season The 1976–77 Colorado Rockies season was the Rockies' first season. The former Kansas City Scouts relocated in the off-season to Denver. With the World Hockey Association's Denver Spurs leaving Denver in a midnight move to Ottawa, Ontario just about 10 months earlier, Denver would get a franchise... at St. Louis 1976–77 St. Louis Blues season The 1976–77 St. Louis Blues season was the tenth for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues won the Smythe Division title with a record of 32 wins, 39 losses and nine ties, good for 73 points, and received a first-round bye in the 1977 NHL Playoffs... |
| March 4 | Buffalo at Boston |
| March 11 | Boston at Philadelphia |
| March 18 | Boston at New York Rangers 1976–77 New York Rangers season The 1976–77 New York Rangers season was the fifty-first season of the New York Rangers franchise in the National Hockey League. The Rangers placed fourth in the Patrick Division and did not qualify for the playoffs... |
| March 25 | Washington at Montreal 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season The 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. They set an NHL record for most points in a season by a team with 132 points... |
| April 8 | New York Rangers at New York Islanders Islanders–Rangers rivalry The Islanders-Rangers rivalry, also unofficially known as the "Battle of New York", is unique among New York City's major league sports, as the Rangers and the Islanders are in the same conference and division, guaranteeing plenty of matchups... |
Affiliates
In most U.S. NHL cities, the Hughes NHL affiliate was the same one that aired the local team's gamesHistorical NHL over-the-air television broadcasters
This article will deal with a list of historical National Hockey League over-the-air television broadcasters.-Local:-See also:*List of current National Hockey League broadcasters*List_of_Stanley_Cup_Finals_broadcasters#Local_television-American:...
. About a couple of dozen other stations carried the games. The network had 47 stations for the season.
| City | Station |
| Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... |
WTCG |
| Baltimore | WBFF WBFF WBFF, channel 45, is a Fox-affiliated television station located in Baltimore, Maryland. WBFF is the flagship station of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which also operates Baltimore's CW affiliate, WNUV-TV , through a local marketing agreement... |
| Boston | WSBK WSBK-TV WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128... |
| Buffalo Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the... |
WUTV WUTV WUTV, virtual channel 29, is the Fox-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 14. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a duopoly with the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV... (Monday night games)WGR WGRZ-TV WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York... /WUTV WUTV WUTV, virtual channel 29, is the Fox-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 14. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, in a duopoly with the area's MyNetworkTV affiliate WNYO-TV... (Saturday afternoon games) |
| Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009... |
WRET WCNC-TV WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation... |
| Chicago | WSNS WSNS-TV WSNS-TV, channel 44, is an owned-and-operated station of the Spanish-language Telemundo network, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This station is owned by NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of Telemundo... |
| Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border... |
WUAB (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... ) |
| Council Bluffs Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across... |
KBIN Iowa Public Television Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses... |
| Dallas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... |
KXTX KXTX-TV KXTX-TV, digital channel 40 , is the Telemundo owned-and-operated station in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Designated Market Area... (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... to 10:00 p.m. CT) |
| Denver Denver, Colorado The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains... |
KWGN KWGN-TV KWGN-TV, virtual channel 2 , is a television station in Denver, Colorado, owned by the Tribune Company and affiliated with the CW Television Network... |
| Des Moines Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857... |
KDIN Iowa Public Television Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses... |
| Detroit Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River... |
WGPR WWJ-TV WWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb.... |
| Duluth Duluth, Minnesota Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,... |
KBJR KBJR-TV KBJR-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin that is licensed to Superior, Wisconsin. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter west of Downtown Duluth in Hilltop Park... |
| Galveston Galveston, Texas Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of... |
Local cable |
| Greenfield Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,456 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair... |
WRLP WRLP-TV WRLP-TV was a television station in Greenfield, Massachusetts which broadcast on UHF channel 32 from 1957 to 1978. For most of its history, it was a satellite of WWLP in Springfield.... |
| Houston Houston, Texas Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ... |
KRIV KRIV KRIV, channel 26, is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox, located in Houston, Texas. KRIV is co-owned with MyNetworkTV affiliate KTXH... (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... to 11:30 p.m. CT) |
| Indianapolis Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S... |
WHMB WHMB-TV WHMB-TV is a predominantly Christian television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana market on digital channel 16. They also run some secular general entertainment a few hours daily . The station is owned by LeSEA Broadcasting, also known as World Harvest Broadcasting.The organization was... |
| Iowa City Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa... |
KIIN Iowa Public Television Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses... |
| Los Angeles Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
KHJ KCAL-TV KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital... (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... to 8:00 p.m. PT Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States... ) |
| Miami Miami, Florida Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... |
WPBT WPBT WPBT is a PBS member public television station that serves the entire South Florida region, and even including portions of the Treasure Coast, the only television station to serve the entire metropolis... |
| New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
WOR WWOR-TV WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship... WNEW WNYW WNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan... |
| Omaha Omaha, Nebraska Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River... |
KETV KETV KETV, digital channel 20 , is the ABC affiliate television station in Omaha, Nebraska and is owned by Hearst Television... (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... to 11:30 p.m. CT) |
| Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,... |
WTAF WTXF-TV WTXF-TV, virtual channel 29 , is an owned-and-operated station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania... |
| Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States... |
WPGH WPGH-TV WPGH-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter at its studios on Ivory Avenue in the city's Summer Hill section. The station can also be seen on Verizon FiOS and Comcast channel 7... |
| Red Oak Red Oak, Iowa -2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,742 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,887 housing units, of which 2,406 were occupied.... |
KHIN Iowa Public Television Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses... |
| Rochester, NY Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City... |
WROC WROC-TV WROC-TV, virtual channel 8, is a CBS affiliate based in Rochester, New York, USA, owned and operated by Nexstar Broadcasting Group. WROC-TV operates Fox affiliate WUHF through a shared services agreement. The two share studios on Humboldt Street in Rochester... |
| San Francisco San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland... |
KQED |
| Seattle Seattle, Washington Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country... |
KSTW KSTW KSTW is a television station serving the Seattle, Washington media market. It is owned by CBS Corporation, and is a part of The CW Television Network. It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 11... (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... to 10:30 p.m. PT Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States... ) |
| Sioux City Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state.... |
KSIN Iowa Public Television Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses... |
| Springfield Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern... |
WWLP |
| St. Louis St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St... |
KDNL KDNL-TV KDNL-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for St. Louis, Missouri. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter in Shrewsbury. The station can also be seen on Charter channel 12 and in high definition on digital channel 780. Owned by the Sinclair... |
| Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
WDCA WDCA WDCA, virtual channel 20, is a television station in Washington, D.C.. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, WDCA is a sister station to Fox network outlet WTTG , and is affiliated with the co-owned MyNetworkTV programming service... (tape delay Broadcast delay In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical... to 9:00 p.m. ET Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time... ) |
Despite the presence of the Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
, there was no NHL Network affiliate in the Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
-St. Paul area.
Ratings
By the time that NBC’s contract with the NHL ended after the , they were getting a 3.8 ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. Meanwhile, the ratings for the NHL Network in its first month of existence were a 3.1 in New York
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
, 1.9 in Los Angeles
KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
, and a 1.3 in Chicago
WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV, channel 44, is an owned-and-operated station of the Spanish-language Telemundo network, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This station is owned by NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of Telemundo...
. By , the Monday night games were seen by about 1 million viewers; 300,000 of which were in the Boston
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
area. Also in 1978–79, the 2 p.m. ET version of the Saturday broadcasts (with the first period cut out) was picked up by all participating affiliates except WSBK-TV Boston (which carried the entire game), and often, the cities whose local teams were playing if the local station aired the NHL Network version of a game instead of a locally-produced broadcast.
Play-by-play
- Marv AlbertMarv AlbertMarv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
- Fred CusickFred CusickFrederick Michael Cusick was an American ice hockey broadcaster who served as the Boston Bruins play-by-play announcer from 1971 until 1997 on WSBK-TV in Boston, and from 1984 until 1995 on NESN...
- Ted DarlingTed DarlingEdgar Lee "Ted" Darling , was the original "Voice of the Buffalo Sabres" ice hockey team for twenty-two seasons, calling the team's games on television from the team's inaugural season in 1970 to 1991...
(primarily in games involving Buffalo) - Don EarleDon EarleDonald Earle Clement was an American ice hockey announcer.Earle, who got his start broadcasting high school hockey games on radio, called Boston Bruins games on WSBK-TV from 1967-1971....
- Jim GordonJim Gordon (sportscaster)Jim Gordon was an American television and radio newscaster and play-by-play sportscaster in the New York City area for nearly 40 years....
- Gene Hart
- Dan KellyDan Kelly (sportscaster)Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
- Jiggs McDonaldJiggs McDonaldJohn Kenneth "Jiggs" McDonald is a sportscaster who did play-by-play announcing for NHL games for almost 40 years. In 1990, McDonald received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame....
- In , McDonald split play-by-play and anaylst duties with Tim RyanTim Ryan (sportscaster)Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
during Games 3 and 4 of the Montreal Canadiens1976–77 Montreal Canadiens seasonThe 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens season was the Canadiens' 68th season. The Canadiens won their 20th Stanley Cup in 1976–77, taking the NHL championship. They set an NHL record for most points in a season by a team with 132 points...
-New York Islanders1976–77 New York Islanders seasonThe 1976–77 New York Islanders season was the fifth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-Game log:-Player stats:Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed...
playoff series (April 28 and 30) - Sam NoverSam NoverSam Nover is a retired American sportscaster. He worked at WIIC-TV / WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh from 1970 until his retirement in 2001 as the Sports Director and principal Sports Anchor. Nover also did National Football League play-by-play for NBC Sports from the late 1970s until the late 1980s. His...
- Brad Palmer
- Tim RyanTim Ryan (sportscaster)Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
was the lead play-by-play man during the first season. During this particular period, he was paired with a local guest announcer. They typically, would split play-by-play duties.
For Game 4 of the 1976 quarterfinal playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens
1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 67th season. The Canadiens won their 19th Stanley Cup in club history.-Regular season:Henri Richard's number 16 was retired December 10, 1975 by the Canadiens in his honour.-Game log:-Regular season:...
and Chicago Black Hawks
1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season
The 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' fiftieth season in the NHL, and the club was coming off a 37-35-8 record in 1974-75, earning 82 points, and finishing in third place in the Smythe Division...
(April 16), Marv Albert and Brad Palmer called the game. Albert handled play-by-play for the first and third period while Palmer, the Black Hawks' TV host, handled play-by-play for the second period. They in the process, acted as analysts for each other. Played at Chicago Stadium
Chicago Stadium
The Chicago Stadium was an indoor sports arena and theater in Chicago. It opened in 1929, and closed in 1994.-History:The Stadium hosted the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL from 1929–1994 and the Chicago Bulls of the NBA from 1967–1994....
, the game was blacked out
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
in the Chicago area.
Meanwhile, Marv Albert also during the 1976 playoffs, teamed with Tim Ryan
Tim Ryan (sportscaster)
Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
(who split play-by-play duties with Albert) and George Michael
George Michael (sportscaster)
George Michael was an American sportscaster best known nationally for The George Michael Sports Machine, his long-running sports highlights television program. Originally named George Michael's Sports Final when it began as a local show in Washington, D.C...
for Game 1 of the New York Islanders
1975–76 New York Islanders season
The 1975–76 New York Islanders season was the fourth season for the franchise in the National Hockey League.-Game log:-Playoffs: ...
-Buffalo Sabres
1975–76 Buffalo Sabres season
-Game log:-References:...
series (April 11) and Terry Crisp for Game 7 of the Toronto Maple Leafs
1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 1975–76 Toronto Maple Leafs season saw the Maple Leafs finish in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 34 wins, 31 losses, and 15 ties for 83 points...
-Philadelphia Flyers
1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season
The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' ninth season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers recorded the best record in team history with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76...
series (April 25). Terry Crisp also worked alongside play-by-play men Gene Hart and Don Earle
Don Earle
Donald Earle Clement was an American ice hockey announcer.Earle, who got his start broadcasting high school hockey games on radio, called Boston Bruins games on WSBK-TV from 1967-1971....
on Game 4 of the aforementioned Toronto-Philadelphia series (April 17).
Color commentary
- Don AwreyDon AwreyDonald William "Elbows" Awrey is a former professional hockey player, who played 979 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins, St...
- Curt BennettCurt BennettCurt Alexander Bennett is a former American ice hockey forward, who played in the National Hockey League as well as for the United States national ice hockey team in the 1970s....
- Bill ChadwickBill ChadwickWilliam Leroy "The Big Whistle" Chadwick was the first US-born referee to serve in the National Hockey League...
- Terry Crisp
- Phil EspositoPhil EspositoPhilip Anthony Esposito, OC is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have...
- John Ferguson, Sr.John Ferguson, Sr.John Bowie "Fergy" Ferguson Sr. was a professional ice hockey player. Ferguson played as a left-winger for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971.-Early years:...
- Eddie GiacominEddie GiacominEdward "Ed" Giacomin is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League, as well as for the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League.-Playing career:Despite suffering serious burns in a kitchen accident,...
- In , Giacomin worked with Dan KellyDan Kelly (sportscaster)Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
on Game 3 of the Philadelphia Flyers1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers seasonThe 1977–78 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 11th season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers lost their hold on the Patrick Division in 1977–78 and settled for second place. Tom Bladon's 8 points in a game against the Cleveland Barons on December 11 set an NHL record...
-Buffalo Sabres1977–78 Buffalo Sabres season-Game log:-References:...
playoff series (April 22) - Bobby HullBobby HullRobert Marvin "Bobby" Hull, OC is a former Canadian ice hockey player. He is regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time and perhaps the greatest left winger to ever play the game. Hull was famous for his blonde hair, blinding skating speed, and having the hardest shot, earning...
- Steve JensenSteve JensenSteven Allan Jensen is a former professional ice hockey player and Owner and Director of Heartland Hockey Camps. Jensen was an offensive player who appeared in 438 games in the National Hockey League from 1976-82...
- In , Jensen worked with Marv AlbertMarv AlbertMarv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
on Game 4 of the Philadelphia Flyers1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers seasonThe 1976–77 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' tenth season in the National Hockey League . They finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 48 wins, 16 losses, and 16 ties for 112 points....
-Toronto Maple Leafs1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs seasonThe 1976–77 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the franchise's sixtieth season, fiftieth as the Maple Leafs. The Leafs finished in third place in the Adams Division with a record of 33 wins, 32 losses and 15 ties for 81 points...
playoff series (April 17) - George MichaelGeorge Michael (sportscaster)George Michael was an American sportscaster best known nationally for The George Michael Sports Machine, his long-running sports highlights television program. Originally named George Michael's Sports Final when it began as a local show in Washington, D.C...
- Stan MikitaStan MikitaStanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...
- Lou NanneLou NanneLouis Vincent Nanne is a retired ice hockey defenceman and general manager who has made significant contributions to hockey in the United States.- Early life :...
- Bobby OrrBobby OrrRobert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
- Chico ReschChico ReschGlenn Allan "Chico" Resch is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender and television sportscaster. Resch played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1973 to 1986, winning one Stanley Cup with the New York Islanders in 1980...
- Garry UngerGarry UngerGarry Douglas "Iron Man" Unger is a former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1967 until 1983.- Playing career :...
The analysts for the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals
1976 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
were active players and each game featured a different analyst alongside Marv Albert. These players were Stan Mikita
Stan Mikita
Stanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...
, Garry Unger
Garry Unger
Garry Douglas "Iron Man" Unger is a former professional ice hockey centre who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1967 until 1983.- Playing career :...
, Chico Resch
Chico Resch
Glenn Allan "Chico" Resch is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender and television sportscaster. Resch played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1973 to 1986, winning one Stanley Cup with the New York Islanders in 1980...
and Curt Bennett
Curt Bennett
Curt Alexander Bennett is a former American ice hockey forward, who played in the National Hockey League as well as for the United States national ice hockey team in the 1970s....
. This format continued in 1977
1977 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1977 Stanley Cup Final championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins were making their first appearance in the Final series since their loss in the 1974 Final. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to none,...
with Stan Mikita, Garry Unger, Chico Resch, Don Awrey
Don Awrey
Donald William "Elbows" Awrey is a former professional hockey player, who played 979 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins, St...
replacing Curt Bennett, who instead worked with Marv Albert and Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
on Game 4 of the Philadelphia Flyers
1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season
The 1975–76 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' ninth season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers recorded the best record in team history with a record of 51–13–16 in 1975–76...
-Boston Bruins
1975–76 Boston Bruins season
The 1975–76 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 52nd season in the NHL. The season involved trading Phil Esposito to the New York Rangers.-NHL Draft:-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltending-Playoffs:ScoringGoaltending-Roster:...
playoff series (May 1).
Other
- Stan FischlerStan FischlerStan Fischler is a hockey and New York City Subway historian, broadcaster, author and professor.For his hockey knowledge, Fischler promotes himself as “The Hockey Maven” in both local and national circles...
- Jim SimpsonJim Simpson (sportscaster)Jim Simpson is a retired American sportscaster, known for his smooth delivery as a play-by-play man and his versatility in covering many different sports. In 1997, he won the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters...
- Dick StocktonDick StocktonDick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
- Scott Wahle
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
served as host for a season. Meanwhile, Stan Fischler
Stan Fischler
Stan Fischler is a hockey and New York City Subway historian, broadcaster, author and professor.For his hockey knowledge, Fischler promotes himself as “The Hockey Maven” in both local and national circles...
was on the broadcasts as an intermission analyst.