CAPITALS, STARS, AND SHARKS CAN ALL ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND OF NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS WITH GAME 5 VICTORIES TONIGHT ON NBCSN & CNBC

Game 5 – (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers at (1) Washington Capitals – 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Capitals Lead 3-1

Game 5 – (WC1) New York Islanders at (1) Florida Panthers – 8 p.m. ET on CNBC – Series Tied 2-2

Game 5 – (WC2) Minnesota Wild at (1) Dallas Stars – 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN – Stars Lead 3-1

Game 5 – (3) San Jose Sharks at (2) Los Angeles Kings – 10:30 p.m. ET on CNBC – Sharks Lead 3-1

Saturday NHL Schedule Announced – Coverage Begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC with Game 5 of Rangers-Penguins

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 22, 2016 – The Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, and San Jose Sharks can all advance to the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Game 5 victories tonight, headlining four matchups on NBCSN and CNBC.

Tonight’s coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, featuring the (1) Washington Capitals and (WC2) Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5 of their series from the nation’s capital. CNBC presents Game 5 of the (WC1) New York Islanders-(1) Florida Panthers series, which is deadlocked at two games apiece.

The (1) Dallas Stars look to close out their series against the (WC2) Minnesota Wild at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a Game 5 win, and the (3) San Jose Sharks visit the (2) Los Angeles Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET on CNBC, as San Jose looks to advance.

Pre-game coverage of tonight’s matchups begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with NHL Live, leading into Game 4 of Caps-Flyers. Kathryn Tappen anchors tonight’s studio coverage on NBCSN alongside Mike Milbury and Keith Jones. Dave Briggs will anchor CNBC’s studio coverage with Jeremy Roenick and Anson Carter.

SATURDAY NHL SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC WITH GAME 5 OF RANGERS-PENGUINS

NBC and NBCSN will present three Stanley Cup Playoff games on Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. ET with Game 5 of the Rangers-Penguins series. Coverage shifts to NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET for Game 5 of the Predators-Ducks series, and NBC will present Game 6 of the Blues-Blackhawks series in primetime at 8 p.m. ET. Sunday’s schedule will be determined following the outcomes of tonight’s games.

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“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. Friday editions will include weekend information.

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THE PASS – FRIDAY, APRIL 22-SATURDAY, APRIL 23 (All times ET)

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 22

GAME 5 – (WC2) FLYERS AT (1) CAPITALS – 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – CAPS LEAD 3-1

The Flyers avoided elimination on Wednesday night with a 2-1 victory in Game 4 in Philadelphia. Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrew MacDonald scored for the Flyers, and Michal Neuvirth made 31 saves in his first playoff start in five years. T.J. Oshie scored Washington’s lone goal in Game 4, and has points in three straight games (1g/3a). The series shifts to Washington tonight, where the Capitals outscored the Flyers 6-1 in Games 1 and 2.

GAME 5 – (WC1) ISLANDERS AT (1) PANTHERS – 8 P.M. ET ON CNBC – SERIES TIED 2-2

Three of the four games in this series have been decided by one goal, and Florida’s 3-1 win in Game 2 included an empty-net goal late in the third period to give the Panthers a two-goal cushion. Florida bounced back with a Game 4 win in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, as defenseman Alex Petrovic, who had just two career goals in 112 regular-season games, scored what was the eventual game-winner in the Panthers’ 2-1 win. John Tavares scored the only goal of the game for New York and has recorded seven points in the series’ four games (3g/4a). The Islanders have lost 11 consecutive Game 5s dating back to 1987.

GAME 5 – (WC2) WILD AT (1) STARS – 9:30 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – STARS LEAD 3-1

The Stars look to close out their series tonight against the Wild with a Game 5 win in Dallas. The Stars earned a 3-2 win in Game 4 in Minnesota on Wednesday night, which was their first road playoff win since 2008. Antti Niemi made 28 saves in his first start of the postseason for Dallas, including all 14 shots he faced in the third period in which Dallas was outshot 14-2. Minnesota will need to stave off elimination without key forwards Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek, who are still sidelined with injuries.

GAME 5 – (3) SHARKS AT (2) KINGS – 10:30 P.M. ET ON CNBC – SHARKS LEAD 3-1

The Sharks pushed the Kings to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday, as San Jose scored three times on the power play in the win. All four games in this series have been decided by one goal, and the Sharks have won all four meetings between the two clubs in Los Angeles this season. Los Angeles finds itself in a familiar position against San Jose; in 2014, the Kings became the fourth team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-0.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

GAME 5 – (3) RANGERS AT (2) PENGUINS – 3 P.M. ET ON NBC – PENGUINS LEAD 3-1

The Penguins took control of their series against the Rangers with a dominant 5-0 win in Game 4 in New York. Evgeni Malkin recorded four points (2g/2a) in the win for Pittsburgh, and Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was pulled early in the second period after allowing four goals. Including the regular season, the Penguins are 6-2-0 against the Rangers this season. New York has rebounded from 3-1 series deficits in the past two postseasons.

GAME 5 – (WC1) PREDATORS AT (1) DUCKS – 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN – SERIES TIED 2-2

The Predators-Ducks series shifts west to Anaheim for Game 5 on Saturday afternoon, as Anaheim looks to build off its victories in Games 3 and 4 in Nashville. The Ducks outscored the Predators 7-1 in their two games in Nashville, including a 4-1 win on Thursday night, as 10 different Ducks skaters recorded a point and Frederik Andersen made 30 saves. The road team has won all four games in this series.
GAME 6 – (2) BLUES AT (3) BLACKHAWKS – 8 P.M. ET ON NBC – BLUES LEAD 3-2

The Blackhawks avoided elimination with a Game 5 win in double overtime on Thursday night, as Patrick Kane scored his first goal of the series 3:07 into double OT. Chicago held a 3-1 lead in the third period of Game 5, before Blues forwards Robby Fabbri and David Backes scored to tie the game and force overtime. The Blues won Games 3 and 4 in Chicago, the first time they’ve won consecutive playoff games at the United Center since 2002.

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

If tonight’s Flyers-Capitals game on NBCSN runs past 9:45 p.m. ET into the start of Wild-Stars, puck drop of Wild-Stars can be found on NHL Network until Flyers-Capitals has concluded. Wild-Stars will return to NBCSN immediately following the conclusion of Flyers-Capitals.

If tonight’s Islanders-Panthers game on CNBC runs past 10:45 p.m. ET into the start of Sharks-Kings, puck drop of Sharks-Kings can be found on NHL Network until Islander-Panthers has concluded. Sharks-Kings will return to CNBC immediately following the conclusion of Islanders-Panthers

As a reminder, all games on NBC, NBCSN, USA Network and CNBC will be live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra.

“WHERE IN THE WORLD IS PIERRE MCGUIRE?” EMMY-AWARD WINNING ‘INSIDE-THE-GLASS’ ANALYST CONTINUES MARATHON SCHEDULE

NBC Sports Group’s Emmy-Award winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire continues his marathon first-round broadcast schedule tonight in Florida with Game 5 of the Islanders-Panthers series. McGuire is slated to serve as an analyst for 11 games in 11 days to begin the postseason, with more games likely added to that run as series continue. His schedule will be comprised of seven different cities, five different playoff series, and more than 13,000 miles in travel. *Note – schedule is subject to change*

COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL COVERAGE

Through the NBC Sports Regional Networks, comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be provided daily via NBC Sports Regional Networks, available in more than 43 million U.S. households. NBC Sports Regional Networks serve the hometown fans of the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, and Washington Capitals. In-depth coverage for those teams advancing to the postseason includes exclusive regional coverage of first-round games, pre- and post-game shows, and extensive on-line coverage via CSN’s team of NHL Insiders.

For teams that advance past the first round, NBC Sports Regional Networks will deliver extensive pre- and post-game coverage as well as breaking news and analysis throughout each team’s playoff run.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA COVERAGE

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff coverage via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–