NBC Sports Begins 2016 NHL STANLEY CUP Playoff Coverage with Tripleheader

NBC Sports Group's comprehensive coverage of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins tonight with a Game 1 tripleheader across on NBCSN and USA Network, starting with NHL LIVE at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Game coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when the (2) Tampa Bay Lightning host the (3) Detroit Red Wings. Coverage continues at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network, when the (2) Pittsburgh Penguins host the (3) N.Y. Rangers, and shifts west at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when the (3) Chicago Blackhawks visit the (2) St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their first-round series.

THE PASS - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 (All times ET)

Time	Coverage	Network	Commentators
6 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
7 p.m.	Game 1 - (3) Detroit at (2) Tampa Bay	NBCSN	Chris Cuthbert, Ray Ferraro
8 p.m.	Game 1 - (3) N.Y. Rangers at (2) Pittsburgh	USA Network	John Forslund, Brian Boucher
	NHL Live (Intermission Reports)	USA Network	Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick, Anson Carter
9:30 p.m.	Game 1 - (3) Chicago at (2) St. Louis	NBCSN	Mike 'Doc' Emrick, Pierre McGuire

All Stanley Cup Playoff games will be presented on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network, CNBC and NHL Network.NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will provide streaming coverage of games airing on NBC, NBCSN, usa network and CNBC via "TV Everywhere."

For more information on NBC Sports Group's overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.
TONIGHT - APRIL 13 - NHL LIVE BEGINS AT 6 P.M ET ON NBCSN

NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones, begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.Kathryn Tappen, Jeremy Roenick and Anson Carter will anchor USA Network's studio coverage throughout the Rangers-Penguins game.

(3) DETROIT RED WINGS AT (2) TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING - GAME 1 AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

This marks the second consecutive season that Detroit and Tampa Bay will meet in the first round. Last year, Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop stopped all 31 shots he faced to propel Tampa Bay to a 2-0 win in a decisive Game 7 of their first-round series. The Red Wings will look to rally around their 37-year-old veteranPavel Datsyuk, who announced that he may retire after the postseason.

(3) NEW YORK RANGERS AT (2) PITTSBURGH PENGUINS - GAME 1 AT 8 P.M. ET ON USA NETWORK

The Rangers visit the Penguins in Game 1 of their first-round series tonight, marking the third consecutive season that the two teams will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2014, the Rangers dispatched of the Penguins in seven games in their second-round series, and beat Pittsburgh in five games in their first-round series last year. The Penguins finished the season with a 14-2-0 record in their last 16 games, and defeated the Rangers three times in March. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (111 games; 54 wins) and Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (98 games; 53 wins) lead the NHL in the most playoff games and wins for all goaltenders since 2002.

(3) CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS AT (2) ST. LOUIS BLUES - GAME 1 AT 9:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBCSN's Game 1 doubleheader continues with a classic Central Division rivalry at 9:30 p.m. ET, whenPatrick Kane and the (3) Chicago Blackhawks visit David Backes and the (2) St. Louis Blues. Kane recorded 106 points this season (46g/60a) to become the first-ever American-born player to lead the NHL in points in a single season, while his linemate Artemi Panarin led all rookies with 77 points (30g/47a). The Blues have been led offensively by Vladimir Tarasenko, who netted 40 goals this season, fourth-best in the league. This is the 12th all-time playoff series between the clubs; Chicago holds an 8-3 series edge, and defeated St. Louis in six games in their 2014 first-round matchup.

**Note - all first-round games are subject to blackouts in local markets**

If tonight's Red Wings-Lightning game on NBCSN runs past 9:45 p.m. ET into the start of Blackhawks-Blues, puck drop of Blackhawks-Blues will be shown live on NHL NETWORK until Red Wings-Lightning has concluded. Blackhawks-Blues will return to NBCSN immediately following the conclusion of Red Wings-Lightning. As a reminder, all games on NBC, NBCSN, usa network and CNBC will be live streamed viaNBC Sports Live Extra.

2015-16 NHL REGULAR SEASON ON NBCSN IS MOST-WATCHED FULL NHL SEASON ON CABLE IN 22 YEARS

Led by strong Wednesday Night Rivalry and Sunday Night Hockey viewership, the 2015-16 NHL regular season on NBCSN averaged 378,000 viewers to rank as the most-watched full regular season in network history, and the most-watched on cable since the 1993-94 season, according to data provided by The Nielsen Company, NBC Sports Group announced yesterday. Click here for more information.