NBC Sports Coverage of 2016 STANLEY CUP Playoffs Begins Today

NBC Sports Group's comprehensive coverage of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins with three first-round games on Wednesday night, the first night of two months of Stanley Cup Playoff hockey. In order to televise as many as four games on a given day/night during the first round, NBC Sports Group will present matchups on NBC, NBCSN and NHL Network, as well as NBCUniversal's USA Network, the No. 1 cable entertainment network, and CNBC, NBCUniversal's business channel. First-round games on cable are subject to local blackouts.

NBC Sports Live Extra - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets - will live stream all games airing on NBC, NBCSN, usa network and CNBC, all via "TV Everywhere."

NBC Sports Group's Game 1 tripleheader begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, when the (2) Tampa Bay Lightning host the (3) Detroit Red Wings, and continues at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network, when the (2) Pittsburgh Penguins host the (3) N.Y. Rangers in a pair of rematches from the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Coverage 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.

Coverage begins Wednesday night at 6 p.m. ET with NHL LIVE on NBCSN. On most nights of the first round, NBC Sports Group will produce two versions of NHL LIVE (one for NBCSN, one for USA Network/CNBC) from separate studios at its International Broadcast Center located in Stamford, Conn. NHL LIVE will feature a combination of hosts Liam McHugh, Kathryn Tappen, and Dave Briggs, and analysts and former players Mike Milbury, Keith Jones, Jeremy Roenick and Anson Carter.