It's a shame how the NHL has to beg and scrape for major network coverage. One would think it's a no-brainer that of the identified four major sports in the US, each would clearly have a major network deal for their championship game/series, right? It ain't necessarily so. The NHL has to split its major network time on NBC with Versus, who televises the NHL throughout most of the year. The deal, which I think really screws Versus and the NHL, is that NBC doesn't want to sacrifice any of their precious mid-week programming for a championship series, so Versus got games 3 and 4. What's more, NBC made the NHL play games 1 and 2 on back-to-back nights so as to stay off of their weeknight programming.
Lasat year, Versus got games 1 and 2, which means that NBC got to rest during two of the three games where it was mathematically impossible for a championship to be determined, then swoop in and take the glory once the series got interesting. It's a shame that the NHL has to stoop to this, considering the networks bid for the privilege of televising the other championships.
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