CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Drops the Puck on the First Round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Tuesday

The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Tuesday, April 30 and CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA is the exclusive home of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators as they each begin their run to the Stanley Cup. Toronto takes on the Boston Bruins beginning Wednesday, May 1 while the Canadiens and Senators face-off on Thursday, May 2. In addition, CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA has exclusive coverage of the marquee match-ups featuring the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Chicago Blackhawks taking on the Minnesota Wild as well as the St. Louis Blues squaring off against the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings. To get viewers ready for the playoffs, CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA: STANLEY CUP COUNTDOWN airs tonight (April 29) at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT). CBC has coverage of every round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, on TV and online at CBCSports.ca, and is the exclusive Canadian home of the Stanley Cup Final.

Ron MacLean and the Hockey Night in Canada team have viewers covered with news, insights and features throughout the playoffs. Scotiabank Hockey Tonight debuts Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) and airs every night throughout the first round of the playoffs. Don Cherry (@coachscornerCBC) makes his playoff debut with Coach’s Corner presented by Budweiser during the first intermission of Wednesday’s Boston vs. Toronto game. Andi Petrillo (@andipHNIC) hosts the Chevrolet Post-Game Show live online at CBCSports.ca with final thoughts on the night’s action.

The action gets underway tomorrow night with Minnesota @ Chicago and Los Angeles @ St. Louis at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT). Viewers in Saskatchewan and to the east will see the Blackhawks and Wild game while viewers in Alberta and to the west will see the Blues and Kings. Both games are available live online for viewers across the country at CBCSports.ca.

The playoffs continue on Wednesday, May 1 with Toronto @ Boston at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA with the team of Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson (@hnicsimmer) joined by Glenn Healy between the benches and Scott Oake (@ScottOake) reporting. The Ottawa @ Montreal series gets underway on Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) with Bob Cole and Garry Galley calling the action and Cassie Campbell-Pascall (@CassieCampbell) reporting.

The broadcast team for the Chicago vs. Minnesota series includes Dean Brown (@PxPOttawa) and Greg Millen (@gregmillen) in the booth while the St. Louis vs. Los Angeles series will be called by Mark Lee and Kelly Hrudey (@KellyHrudey) with David Amber (@DavidAmber) reporting. See attached for a complete first round broadcast schedule and distribution.

“As the only network in Canada where fans can see the Stanley Cup hoisted by the winning team, we strive to bring viewers new and innovative ways to connect to the game and to CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada and this playoff season is no exception with our tremendous multi-platform offerings,” said Julie Bristow, executive director, studio and unscripted programming, CBC. “I’m extremely proud of the team that continues to create avenues for fans to get more involved with our broadcasts and ultimately closer to the game. We’ll have a few more surprises to share leading up to the Stanley Cup Final this year, so stay tuned.”

Before the teams hit the ice, Ron MacLean hosts CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA: STANLEY CUP COUNTDOWN alongside P.J. Stock (@PJStockHNIC), Elliotte Friedman (@friedgeHNIC), Glenn Healy, Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) and Andi Petrillo on April 29 in front of a live studio audience with a special musical performance by Canada’s own Down With Webster (@DOWNWITHWEBSTER). The CBC Hockey Night in Canada team provides in-depth previews and analysis of each first-round playoff match-up.

On Wednesday, May 1, leading into the Toronto @ Boston game, Scotiabank Hockey Tonight features a special live performance by City and Colour presented by SiriusXM. The entire performance is available online at CBCSports.ca starting at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT).

The engaging Hockey Night in Canada: 2nd Screen presented by Budweiser connects users throughout the playoffs at CBCSports.ca/2ndscreen. Users continue to collect points to earn prizes through predictions, in-game trivia and online engagement.

Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi presented by Chevrolet with Harnarayan Singh (@IceSinghHNIC), Inderpreet Cumo (@InderpreetHNIC) and Bhola Chauhan features one series per round starting with Boston vs. Toronto. The Punjabi-language broadcasts are available live on Bell Satellite TV channel 232, Bell Fibe TV channel 233, Delta Digital TV (Eastlink) channel 294, Rogers Digital TV channel 799, Shaw Digital TV channel 328, Shaw Direct channel 480 (Classic), Shaw Direct channel 429 (Advanced), TELUS Optik TV channel 131 and TELUS Satellite TV channel 232. The broadcasts are also available live and on-demand at CBCSports.ca.

In addition to television and online coverage, Hockey Night in Canada Radio on SiriusXM with host Rob Pizzo (@RobPizzo) provides comprehensive analysis of the entire 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs from 3-5 p.m. ET every weekday on Sirius 207 and XM 92. Pizzo welcomes the biggest names in the game for in-depth discussion and insightful interviews on the latest storylines from the NHL.

Fans can connect with CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA online at CBCSports.ca/HockeyNightInCanada, through Twitter (@hockeynight) and Instagram using #HockeyNight, Facebook and Pinterest. Fans can also stay up-to-date with the Hockey Night in Canada app for iOS, Windows 8, Blackberry 10 and Android as well as via Xbox and Google Currents.