NHL Game of the Week


The National Hockey League Game of the Week is a branding used for regular season National Hockey League weekend games that are typically televised on a national broadcast network in the U.S.
The branding was previously used by NBC on Sunday afternoons, beginning at the weekend of the NFL Conference Championship games when it held NHL broadcast rights between the 2005–06 and 2020–21 seasons. During the 2016–17, NBC began to promote the Star Sunday brand on both the Game of the Week and its Sunday Night Hockey broadcasts on sister cable network NBCSN, focusing primarily on the NHL's star players. Star Sunday featured extensive pre-game, in-game and post-game coverage of each featured player. The first game under the new package featured the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings on January 22, 2017, with Ryan McDonagh and Dylan Larkin the featured players of their respective teams.
Beginning with the 2021–22 season, ABC replaced NBC as the league's network broadcast partner. Since then, ABC has typically aired one game per weekend, usually on Saturday afternoons, beginning in February. Due to the current arrangement of ABC's sports programming being produced and co-branded by ESPN, the broadcasts carry the NHL on ESPN production and branding.

History

Historically, there was game of the week broadcasts in the past but until NBC Sports took over broadcasting rights to the National Hockey League from ESPN and ABC they were never consistent.

NHL on NBC era

Starting in, the most important games on primarily Sundays or Thursdays would be titled NHL on NBC Game of the Week which eventually got moved to only Sundays later that season.
Then as a part of the deal made between NBC and the NHL in, the game of the week package would add the NHL Thanksgiving Showdown to its schedule and this would continue until the 2020-21 season.

ESPN/ABC takes over

In March 2021, after nearly 20 years away, ESPN announced it had reacquired broadcasting rights to the NHL and as a part of that deal ABC would take over rights to air the game of the week package.
ABC Hockey Saturday as is would be called would debut on November 26, 2021
with the Thanksgiving Showdown between the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins.
ABC’s game of the week coverage consists of mostly of either doubleheaders or tripleheaders from Saturday afternoon to night which usually begins at the last weeks of the season which starts with a 30-minute pregame show.

Schedules

2000s

2007–08 season

Starting this season, NBC aired these Game of the Week games on a national basis, in addition to carrying the national broadcasts of the Winter Classic on New Year's Day and the Stanley Cup Playoffs during the Spring.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 20, 200812:30 P.M.Boston3NY Rangers1
February 3, 20082 P.M.NY Rangers5Montreal3
February 10, 20083:30 P.M.Anaheim3Detroit2
February 17, 20083:30 P.M.Detroit0Dallas1
March 2, 200812:30 P.M.Philadelphia4NY Rangers5
March 9, 200812:30 P.M.Pittsburgh4Washington2
March 16, 200812 P.M.Philadelphia1Pittsburgh7
March 30, 200812:30 P.M.NY Rangers1Pittsburgh3
April 6, 200812:30 P.M.Chicago1Detroit4

2010s

2011–12 season

The Pittsburgh Penguins had an overall five network TV appearances during this season, making it the first NHL team in Pennsylvania and the first NHL team to have overall five network appearances in a regular season.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 14, 201212:30 P.M.Chicago2Detroit3
January 22, 201212:30 P.M.Washington3Pittsburgh4
February 12, 201212:30 P.M.Washington2NY Rangers3
February 19, 201212:30 P.M.Pittsburgh2Buffalo6
February 19, 201212:30 P.M.San Jose2Detroit3
February 19, 201212:30 P.M.St. Louis1Chicago3
February 19, 20123:30 P.M.Boston0Minnesota2
March 4, 201212:30 P.M.Boston3NY Rangers4
March 11, 201212:30 P.M.Boston2Pittsburgh5
March 18, 201212:30 P.M.Pittsburgh2Philadelphia3
April 1, 201212:30 P.M.Philadelphia6Pittsburgh4
April 7, 20121 P.M.Chicago3 Detroit2

2013–14 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 19, 201412:30 P.M.Boston2Chicago3
January 26, 201412:30 P.M.NY Rangers7New Jersey3
February 2, 201412:30 P.M.Detroit5Washington6
March 1, 20148 P.M.Pittsburgh1Chicago5
March 2, 201412:30 P.M.Philadelphia5 Washington4
March 9, 201412:30 P.M.Detroit0NY Rangers3
March 16, 201412:30 P.M.Philadelphia4Pittsburgh3
March 30, 201412:30 P.M.Boston4 Philadelphia3
April 6, 201412:30 P.M.St. Louis2Chicago4
April 12, 20143 P.M.Philadelphia4 Pittsburgh3
April 13, 201412:30 P.M.Detroit3St. Louis0

2014–15 season

DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 18, 201512:30 P.M.NY Rangers5Pittsburgh2
February 8, 201512:30 P.M.Chicago4St. Louis2
February 15, 201512:30 P.M.Pittsburgh1Chicago2
February 22, 201512:30 P.M.Washington2Philadelphia3
February 22, 20153:30 P.M.Boston6Chicago2
February 28, 20158 P.M.NY Rangers2Philadelphia4
March 8, 201512:30 P.M.Detroit3Boston5
March 15, 201512:30 P.M.Detroit5Pittsburgh1
March 22, 201512 P.M.St. Louis1Detroit2
April 5, 201512:30 P.M.Pittsburgh1Philadelphia4
April 11, 20153 P.M.Minnesota2St. Louis4
April 11, 20153 P.M.San Jose1Los Angeles4

2015–16 season

NBC was supposed to air the Pittsburgh-Washington match-up on January 24, but however, the game was postponed due to hazardous weather, so the network instead selecting St. Louis-Chicago game as their match-up and it aired in the Primetime slot.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 24, 201612:30 P.M.PittsburghWashingtonPPD
January 24, 20167 P.M.St. Louis0Chicago2
February 7, 201612 P.M.Philadelphia2Washington3
February 14, 20163:30 P.M.Boston5Detroit6
February 21, 201612:30 P.M.Pittsburgh4Buffalo3
February 21, 20163:30 P.M.Chicago1Minnesota6
February 27, 20168 P.M.Detroit5Colorado3
February 28, 201612:30 P.M.Washington2Chicago3
March 13, 201612:30 P.M.Pittsburgh5NY Rangers3
April 3, 201612:30 P.M.Boston4Chicago6
April 9, 20163 P.M.Pittsburgh1Philadelphia3

2016–17 season

During the season, NBC's Star Sunday concept was added to the Game of the Week package. The first game under the new brand took place on January 22, 2017, in a game between the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 15, 20171:00 P.M.Philadelphia0Washington5
January 22, 2017*12:30 P.M.N.Y. Rangers1Detroit0
February 5, 2017*12 P.M.Los Angeles0Washington5
February 12, 2017*3 P.M.Detroit3Minnesota6
February 19, 201712:30 P.M.Washington1N.Y. Rangers2
February 19, 20173:30 P.M.Detroit5Pittsburgh2
February 25, 20178 P.M.Philadelphia2Pittsburgh4
February 26, 2017*12:30 P.M.Boston6Dallas3
March 12, 2017*12:30 P.M.Minnesota2Chicago4
March 26, 2017*12:30 P.M.Minnesota2Detroit3
April 2, 2017*12:30 P.M.Boston3Chicago2
April 8, 20173 P.M.Washington3Boston1

Designated as a Star Sunday game.

2017–18 season

During this season, the Philadelphia Flyers had an overall five network TV appearances, making it the final NHL team in Pennsylvania and the second NHL team to have overall five network appearances. NBC initially announced that no NHL games would be aired on the network during the 2018 Winter Olympics, however they changed course and added three Sunday afternoon games in February as a lead-in to the Winter Olympics, allowing Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk to stay home and call 3 NHL games. NBC correctly switched the final minutes of the 2018 NHL Stadium Series to its sister network NBCSN at 11 p.m. Eastern Time after play stoppage due to the power outage delay. Star Sunday returned on March 11, 2018, both as part of the Game of the Week and Sunday Night Hockey package.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 14, 201812:30 P.M.Detroit4Chicago0
January 21, 201812:30 P.M.Philadelphia2 Washington1
February 11, 201812:20 P.M.Pittsburgh4St. Louis1
February 18, 201812:20 P.M.Philadelphia7N.Y. Rangers5
February 25, 201812:20 P.M.St. Louis0Nashville4
March 3, 20188 P.M.Toronto2Washington5
March 11, 2018*12:30 P.M.Boston1Chicago3
March 25, 2018*12:30 P.M.Philadelphia4Pittsburgh5
April 1, 2018*12:30 P.M.Boston3Philadelphia4
April 7, 20183 P.M.N.Y. Rangers0Philadelphia5

Designated as a Star Sunday game.

2018–19 season

For the first time, NBC selected two regional games which to aired it in primetime on February 2, 2019. Star Sunday returned on February 3, 2019, both as part of the Game of the Week and Sunday Night Hockey package. This marked the first and only season of Star Sunday to have its presenting sponsor; AT&T was the first presenting sponsor and they branded themselves as Star Sunday presented by AT&T.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 20, 201912:30 P.M.Washington5Chicago8
February 2, 20198 P.M.Tampa Bay3N.Y. Rangers2
February 2, 20198 P.M.Chicago4 Minnesota3
February 3, 2019*12:30 P.M.Boston1Washington0
February 10, 2019*12:30 P.M.St. Louis5Nashville4
February 17, 201912:30 P.M.N.Y. Rangers5Pittsburgh6
February 17, 20193:30 P.M.St. Louis4Minnesota0
February 23, 20198 P.M.Pittsburgh3Philadelphia4
March 3, 2019*12:30 P.M.Washington3 N.Y. Rangers2
March 24, 2019*12:30 P.M.Philadelphia1Washington3
March 31, 2019*12:30 P.M.N.Y. Rangers3Philadelphia0

Designated as a Star Sunday game.

2020s

2019–20 season (NBC)

For this season only, Brian Boucher joined Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk on the lead broadcast team while Pierre McGuire is reassigned to work with NBC's other broadcast teams. The Pittsburgh Penguins originally had six network television appearances during that season, however, due to the cancellation of their final two network TV appearances because of the coronavirus pandemic, they reduced to four as the games are postponed due to the pandemic, in which the rest of the regular season was paused indefinitely due to the pandemic. All players and hockey staff were asked to self-quarantine in their home cities until further notice. On May 26, 2020, Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, was announced that the rest of the regular season was cancelled.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 19, 202012:30 P.M.Boston3Pittsburgh4
February 2, 202012:30 P.M.Pittsburgh4Washington3
February 9, 202012:30 P.M.Boston1Detroit3
February 15, 20208 P.M.Los Angeles3Colorado1
February 16, 202012:30 P.M.Detroit1Pittsburgh5
February 16, 20203:30 P.M.Boston3N.Y. Rangers1
February 23, 202012 P.M.Pittsburgh3Washington5
March 1, 202012 P.M.Philadelphia5N.Y. Rangers3

2020–21 season (NBC)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the 2020–21 NHL season has been delayed to January 13, 2021, and all teams would play a 56-game division-only schedule with the NHL temporarily realigning divisions to minimize travel as much as possible, with all seven Canadian teams playing one division due to COVID-19 cross-border travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Canada.
NBC Sports broadcast 16 NHL regular season games, which is the most ever NHL regular season games broadcast on NBC. The NHL on NBC schedule featured a number of rivalries, including the Capitals–Penguins rivalry, the Blackhawks–Red Wings rivalry, the Bruins-Rangers rivalry, and the Avalanche-Blues rivalry. Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals had five network television appearances this season, the third NHL team to have largest appearances during the regular season. The final NHL on NBC game was on May 8, 2021, with two games aired regionally, all but New York metro and Boston markets, who got the Penguins-Sabres game, got the Bruins-Rangers rivalry game, and the regional games were shared with the teams' respective broadcasters in their aforementioned markets. It also marked as the final season for the games to aired on NBC after 16 years, as 10 games were regained by over-the-air ABC beginning next season.
DateTimeAway teamScoreHome teamScore
January 17, 202112 P.M.Washington3Pittsburgh4
January 24, 202112:30 P.M.Detroit2Chicago6
February 7, 202112 P.M.Philadelphia7Washington4
February 14, 20213 P.M.Washington3Pittsburgh6
February 20, 20213 P.M.Vegas2Colorado3
February 21, 20213 P.M.New Jersey3Washington4
February 28, 202112 P.M.Boston4N.Y. Rangers1
March 7, 202112 P.M.Buffalo2N.Y. Islanders5
March 28, 202112 P.M.N.Y. Rangers4Washington5
April 4, 202112 P.M.Detroit5Tampa Bay1
April 17, 20213 P.M.Pittsburgh3Buffalo2
April 18, 202112 P.M.Washington3Boston6
April 24, 20213 P.M.Colorado3St. Louis5
April 25, 20213 P.M.Boston0Pittsburgh1
May 2, 20213 P.M.Tampa Bay2Detroit1
May 8, 20213 P.M.N.Y. Rangers5Boston4
May 8, 20213 P.M.Buffalo0Pittsburgh1

2021–22 season (ABC)

This season, ABC took over as the national over-the-air broadcaster for the NHL as part of a seven-year multiplatform deal with ESPN. They kicked off their coverage with the Thanksgiving Showdown on November 26. All games were simulcast on ESPN+, and featured a stats-based IceCast alternate broadcast, excluding the Thanksgiving Showdown.

2022–23 season (ABC)

ABC lost the rights to the Thanksgiving Showdown to TNT, but gained the rights to the NHL Stadium Series in return. ABC also introduced doubleheaders on select Saturdays, as well as a tripleheader during the last Saturday of the season.

2023-24 season (ABC)

ABC had four doubleheader weeks this season, as well as the Stadium Series, and two tripleheaders, one on the same day as the first game of the Stadium Series, the other on the last Saturday of the season. All games will once again be simulcast on ESPN+.

2024–25 season (ABC)

ABC aired six doubleheaders, as well as the Saturday games of the NHL [4 Nations Face-Off]. There were no tripleheaders this season as a result of the 4 Nations break, as well as scheduling conflicts. In addition to ESPN+, all ABC games this season are also simulcast on Disney+.