With only a week left until the puck drops on the 2010-11 NHL regular season, TSN gets fans ready for the return of the good ol’ hockey game with comprehensive NHL season preview coverage.
Featuring two nights of preview shows, TSN ensures hockey fans are set for the season beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 5 with TSN THE REPORTERS WITH DAVE HODGE (7:30 p.m. ET), NHL ON TSN: TOP 50 NHL PLAYERS (8 p.m. ET), and the TSN FANTASY DRAFT SPECIAL (9 p.m. ET).
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, OFF THE RECORD WITH MICHAEL LANDSBERG debuts its NHL SEASON PREVIEW SPECIAL (7:30 p.m. ET), followed by the NHL ON TSN SEASON PREVIEW SHOW with host James Duthie (8 p.m. ET) on TSN (see TSN Season Preview Broadcast Schedule below). All programs are available in High Definition and on-demand at TSN.ca. Encore presentations of the programs are also available on TSN2.
In addition, the nightly staple THAT’S HOCKEY with Gino Reda returns for its 14th season on Monday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. ET on TSN2, while TSN’s flagship sports news program SPORTSCENTRE has daily NHL reports leading up to and during the regular season with highlights and insight and analysis of every game from TSN’s hockey experts and correspondents across Canada.
Regular season coverage on TSN gets underway on opening day, Thursday, Oct. 7, with an NHL Premiere game from Europe, as the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Minnesota Wild at 12 noon ET in Helsinki, Finland. TSN has four NHL games from Europe to kick off the regular season.
TSN then hits the ice closer to home with its first WEDNESDAY NIGHT HOCKEY broadcast of the year featuring doubleheader action on October 13 with Toronto @ Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m. ET immediately followed by Vancouver @ Anaheim at 10 p.m. ET.
TSN2 has live NHL action on Tuesday, Oct. 12 with Colorado @ Detroit at 7:30 p.m. ET.
TSN’s Season Preview Broadcast Schedule
TSN’s jam-packed NHL regular season preview lineup is as follows:
Monday, Oct. 4
• THAT’S HOCKEY – airs Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. ET on TSN
Hosted by Gino Reda, THAT’S HOCKEY returns for a 14th season, getting hockey fans prepped with Canadian team previews and interviews with NHL general managers and executives. The 30-minute daily show premieres on October 4 at 7 p.m. ET on TSN2 before moving to its regular 7 p.m. ET time slot on TSN the following evening. During the NHL season, Reda interviews the NHL’s biggest stars, head coaches and GMs from around the league, and is joined by TSN hockey analysts and Insiders to deliver in-depth insight and analysis on the league’s hot button issues.
Tuesday, Oct. 5
• TSN THE REPORTERS WITH DAVE HODGE – 7:30 p.m. ET
Host Dave Hodge is joined by his regular roundtable of Canadian journalists – Damien Cox, Michael Farber and Steve Simmons – to look at some of the key topics and issues heading into the 2010-11 NHL campaign. The panel also takes a closer look at the six Canadian teams as they prepare for the start of the regular season.
• NHL ON TSN: TOP 50 NHL PLAYERS – 8 p.m. ET (10 p.m. ET on TSN2)
Who is the #1 player in the NHL today? NHL ON TSN host James Duthie presents the first TSN ranking of the top 50 NHLers as determined by a vote of 25 TSN hockey experts. The 60-minute original TSN production features Duthie joined in studio by Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie and hockey analysts Pierre McGuire and Ray Ferraro as they count down the best current NHL players. TOP 50 NHL PLAYERS also features interviews with NHL players.
• TSN FANTASY DRAFT SPECIAL – 9 p.m. ET (11 p.m. ET on TSN2)
James Duthie hosts this annual battle for bragging rights as Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, analysts Pierre McGuire and Keith Jones, and veteran hockey commentator Dave Hodge each draft a fantasy hockey team of eight players. The 60-minute program also includes analyst Darren Pang revealing his list of top breakout candidates for the upcoming fantasy hockey season.
Wednesday, Oct. 6
• OFF THE RECORD WITH MICHAEL LANDSBERG – 7:30 p.m. ET (9:30 p.m. ET on TSN2)
OTR’s 30-minute NHL SEASON PREVIEW SPECIAL includes host Michael Landsberg sitting down with Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke and Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau for one-on-one interviews.
• NHL ON TSN SEASON PREVIEW SHOW – 8 p.m. ET (10 p.m. ET on TSN2)
Hosted by James Duthie, the two-hour program delivers everything a hockey fan needs to know about the upcoming 2010-11 NHL season. The program has hardcore analysis of each Canadian team by the NHL ON TSN panel featuring Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie and analysts Pierre McGuire and Ray Ferraro. Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins the panel in studio to reveal his lists of Top 10 NHL rookies and five NHL coaches on the Hot Seat, and former NHL head coach Craig MacTavish pre-scouts each Canadian club in the Video Room. The SEASON PREVIEW SHOW also includes projected standings and playoff winners and losers. Also featured is the return of Dave Hodge’s popular Hodgemail segment and Canada’s favourite game show, The Quiz.
