clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Thoughts And Notes On Blues NBC Schedule

The Blues always seem to disappoint on national television. If that proves true, the Blues are already screwed as many as 11 times.

By J-Mill
The whole country will see this 4 times this year.
The whole country will see this 4 times this year.
Dilip Vishwanat

As both Hildy and the Hockey Gods like to remind us, the Blues don't seem to fare well with the national spot light on them. At least not in recent years, anyway.

Nevertheless, NBC seems to like the Blues this year, especially when playing Those Fuckers Up North. 11 Blues games have been picked up for national broadcast, although a few are in flex slots.

Let's take a look at which games we can irrationally fear this season (all times central):

  • Tuesday, November 4th, 6:30: @ New Jersey Devils
  • Tuesday, November 11th, 7:00: vs Buffalo Sabres
  • Wednesday, December 3rd, 7:00: @ Chicago Blackhawks
  • Tuesday, December 23rd, 7:00: @ Colorado Avalanche
  • Monday, January 19th, 7:00: vs Colorado Avalanche
  • Sunday, February 1st, 12:00 @ Washington Capitols
  • *Sunday, February 8th, 11:30am: vs Chicago Blackhawks*
  • *Sunday, March 22nd, 11:30am: @ Detroit Red Wings*
  • *Sunday, April 5th, 6:30: @ Chicago Blackhawks*
  • Thursday, April 9th, 6:30: vs Chicago Blackhawks
  • *Saturday, April 11th, 2:00: vs Minnesota Wild*

*Flex games
BOLD = NBC actual (the rest are NBCSports)


A few notes & thoughts:
  • That last game against the Wild is one of two that could get that NBC slot, the other being the Sharks-Kings. Soooo...basically expect the final count to fall from 11 games to 10.
  • This is also not including the games that NHL Network will pickup, which won't be announced for "a few weeks."
  • If it does stay at 11, however, it's a tie for the 2nd most national games in the league, behind the Bruins, Flyers, Caps, Sharks, & Kings with 12.
  • 4 of the 5 Blues-Hawks games this year will be nationally televised, the only exception being the first meeting on Saturday, October 25th at the DrinkScotch. This isn't that surprising, since the Blues-Hawks Central Division Semifinal was not only one of the most entertaining series of the playoffs, but was also among the highest rated of the first round. By comparison, a few of the NHL's other marquee rivalries:  Penguins-Flyers (4), Caps-Pens (3), LA-SJ (4, unless they get flexed in instead of Blues-Wild, then they have all 5).
  • The Blues only appearence on Wednesday Night Rivalry is the December 3rd game in Chicago. Because of NBC's exclusivity on Wednesdays, that'll be the Blues only regular season game on Wednesday all season.
  • We'll have 4 national broadcast matinees this year, including a Sunday in DC that I'm sure Robb is probably circling on his calender. Sorry, Hildy, no games in Atlanta this year. [Ducks]
  • Personally, I'm a little surprised at there only being 2 Blues-Avs games picked, as that started to grow into a pretty entertaining brand of dislike last year. And that's not even before the polar opposite styles the teams play. Throw in the Paul Stastny Factor and you'd think that'd be a match-up NBC would like a bit more.
  • Not one Blues-Kings game, either.
What do you guys think? How many of those are wins? Which ones are you getting excited about?