First Period Numbers

Now that the second round is officially underway, I thought it would be cool to do a statistical analysis of the first round ratings and see which Canadian network did the best job attracting viewers to its telecasts. With each of the three broadcasters reaching a different number of households, I evened the playing field by dividing the average audience per series by the number of households reached by each network to arrive at an Audience per Household figure (or “APH”). The results, from best to worst, are below:


The clear winner is the Canadiens-Capitals series on French-language RDS, blowing away the nearest English-language competition (also the Canadiens-Capitals series) by more than a 2-to-1 margin. RDS only reaches approximately 3 million homes but was able to attract an average audience of over 1.3 million people for the series, yielding an APH of 0.446. English-language TSN, which is available in about 9 million homes, reported an average audience of 1.8 million viewers for the same series (an APH of 0.2), while CBC, which is available in approximately 13 million households, drew about 2 million people for its Kings-Canucks and Senators-Penguins matchups (APHs of 0.156 and 0.151 respectively).

Not surprisingly, the five series involving only American-based teams did not draw as well as their Canadian counterparts. Nonetheless, despite having the last two selections in the broadcast draft, all of TSN’s U.S. matchups had better APHs than CBC’s Bruins-Sabres series, and two of TSN’s three U.S. matchups reported higher APHs than both of CBC’s all-American telecasts.

So, to recap, excluding the RDS broadcasts, TSN had the highest APH amongst series involving a Canadian team and also had the two highest APHs for series not involving a Canadian team. Translation: TSN did a better job selecting its first round matchups than did rival CBC, and this despite having the last choices. Too bad for the specialty channel that the first round’s over.

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES:
Tonight
Canadiens at Penguins - Game 1, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Saturday
Flyers at Bruins - Game 1, 12:30 p.m. (NBC)/(TSN)/(RDS)
Canucks at Blackhawks - Game 1, 8 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Sunday
Canadiens at Penguins - Game 2, 2 p.m. (NBC)/(CBC)/(RDS)
Red Wings at Sharks - Game 2, 8 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)

David Slays Goliath, Cementing Round Two Schedule

Last night’s stunning victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the heavily favoured Washington Capitals allowed television networks on both sides of the border to confirm their broadcast schedules for the second round.

As much as the Canadiens-Capitals series and seventh-game theatrics were a dream come true for specialty channel TSN in terms of first round ratings, the Canadiens victory in game seven combined with the Canucks earlier win over the Kings will transform into a landslide ratings triumph for CBC in the second round. The public broadcaster has the option to pick which two second round series it wishes to telecast and has selected the Canadiens-Penguins and Canucks-Blackhawks matchups. Look for Bob Cole and Greg Millen to call the Montreal series (beginning Friday at 7 o’clock) and Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson to work the Vancouver games (starting Saturday at 8 o’clock). TSN will cover the Red Wings-Sharks (commencing tonight at 9 o’clock) and Flyers-Bruins (beginning Saturday at 12:30), with the broadcast teams of Gord Miller/Pierre McGuire and Chris Cuthbert/Ray Ferraro.

In the United States, as I previously speculated, NBC’s limited two-game coverage of the second round will abandon both the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks in order to focus on the Eastern Conference matchups of Philadelphia-Boston (Saturday at 12:30) and Montreal-Pittsburgh (Sunday at 2 o’clock). The fact that NBC will televise the Canadiens gives rise to an interesting situation for CBC, which avoided Montreal in the first round so as not to split the Quebec audience with French-language cable channel RDS. Now in the second round, not only will CBC have to contend with RDS, but our public broadcaster will also face competition from NBC, albeit only for one game. Even more intriguing is that Pierre McGuire, who covered the entire Canadiens-Capitals series for TSN, will now work the Canadiens-Penguins on NBC. Montreal fans who enjoyed McGuire’s analysis in the first round may very well decide to stick with him, albeit, again, only for one game. RDS, of course, will continue its wall-to-wall Canadiens coverage for the entire series with Pierre Houde, Benoît Brunet, Alain Crête, and Jacques Demers. Nonetheless, look for very high ratings on CBC for both its second round series.

TONIGHT’S GAME:
Red Wings at Sharks – Game 1, 9 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)

The Hockey World According to CBC

CBC has developed a reputation in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs for being so self-absorbed in the series it’s covering that it almost completely ignores the other post-season matchups taking place. Take yesterday, for example, when the public broadcaster issued a press release entitled “Highest Round One Audience in Six Seasons for 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada”. Apparently, CBC would have us believe that the first round was already over as of yesterday.

But just like it’s not a coincidence that any mention of the Montreal Canadiens has been shunned on CBC ever since the network deliberately lost broadcast rights of the Canadiens-Capitals series to rival TSN, so too is it not a coincidence that CBC selected yesterday to publish its press release – in advance of the two game sevens set to air on TSN and the high ratings they are expected to generate, particularly the aforementioned Canadiens-Capitals tilt. Had the public broadcaster waited until all the first round games were truly over, its numbers would look weaker by comparison.

As can be expected, CBC tried to put a positive spin on its performance, claiming its audience numbers were the highest they’ve been since 2004. The only problem with this claim is that BBM Canada changed the way ratings were calculated in this country on August 31, 2009, and all the networks have been setting so-called ratings records ever since. On April 19 of this year, when TSN published its own press release to promote the “highest NHL playoff audience ever recorded for the network” at 2.1 million for game two of the Canadiens-Capitals series, the release mentioned a difference in reporting techniques as of August 31, 2009. Unlike TSN’s release, no such disclosure was made in CBC’s communiqué.

Also unlike TSN, no “all-time” record was set by CBC. The best the public broadcaster could do was go back six years. I wonder if the absence of the Montreal Canadiens had anything to do with that.

TONIGHT'S GAME:
Canadiens at Capitals - Game 7, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)

TSN in Seventh Heaven

CBC may have made the initial blunder by passing on the Canadiens-Capitals series, but TSN has subsequently taken all the right steps to ensure that it gets the most from the first round matchup. It’s only fitting that it will go seven games.

At the beginning of the series, TSN made the decision to fly Michael Landsberg to Montreal to host on-site editions of his talk show Off the Record prior to each Canadiens home game. Special guests on the show included former Habs coach Jacques Demers and ex-Canadiens tough guy Georges Laraque. The network also decided to structure SportsCentre, its flagship sports news programme, in such a way as to delicately leverage the Canadiens-Capitals series while still preserving enough integrity to sufficiently cover the other series involving Canadian teams. This, in direct contrast to CBC, which has found ways to turn the Vancouver Canucks into a national news story – I’m talking CBC News Network and The National ­– but can barely bring itself to utter the words “Montreal Canadiens” - even on hockey broadcasts.

When it comes to the games themselves, TSN has consistently turned-in the type of strong broadcast coverage that was once exclusive to CBC. Take last night’s sixth game in Montreal – always an emotional place to play. TSN did the right thing by coming back from commercial break before the national anthems to hear the crowd’s reaction as the teams were introduced and made their way on the ice. Although play-by-play man Gord Miller isn’t my personal favourite, he has done a good job in this series of taking a breather every now and then to let the game’s atmosphere tell the story. Analyst Pierre McGuire is usually on the mark with his observations, like last night when he saw right through Maxime Lapierre’s second period dive and unequivocally praised referee Dan O’Rourke for making the right call.

Last night’s broadcast was not without a few technical glitches – particularly in regards to the out-of-town updates provided between breaks in play – but the specialty channel was never late getting back to live action (unlike a certain other network). And at the end of the game, after a brilliant performance by Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak, TSN made the right decision not to leave the arena until after the three-star selection and ear-piercing applause for the Habs netminder had concluded.

It looks like tomorrow’s seventh and deciding game is in good hands.

TONIGHT’S GAME:
Red Wings at Coyotes – Game 7, 9 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)

Networks Ponder Second Round Selections

With teams starting to advance from the first round of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, we are afforded a glimpse – albeit a hazy one – as to what the next round may look like. Here’s an early look at what the different networks are considering heading into tonight’s action:

Due to golf and poker commitments, NBC’s second round coverage will be limited to this upcoming weekend only, with telecasts scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 and Sunday at 2 o’clock. Although the network is predisposed to Western Conference games involving Detroit or Chicago, look for neither of these teams to be on NBC’s second round slate. Should the Red Wings qualify, they would open their series on the west coast against either San Jose or Vancouver, neither of which could accommodate an early afternoon start time on the east coast. Should the Blackhawks advance, they would open at home – a possible candidate for Sunday’s 2 o’clock telecast – but their opponent would be Vancouver and we all know that NBC isn’t too big on Canadian content. Instead, look for NBC to focus on the Eastern Conference, where it is guaranteed that a minimum of one series will be an all-U.S. matchup involving at least one of Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, or Washington.

On this side of the border, where Canadian teams drive ratings, it was good news and bad news for CBC over the weekend, with Vancouver winning its series and the Ottawa Senators losing theirs. Like the first round, there will be a draft between CBC and TSN to determine which series ends-up on which network, but CBC will no longer have to pick two Canadian teams at the expense of a third. Vancouver will be on CBC for sure, as will the Montreal Canadiens if they manage to win their series against Washington. If the Canadiens don’t advance, CBC would have to choose between Washington-Philadelphia and Pittsburgh-Boston/Buffalo. We know from the first round that the public broadcaster prefers Sidney Crosby and the Penguins over Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, so expect CBC to take the Penguins series should Vancouver be the only Canadian team to qualify. The ideal situation for CBC would be having the Canadiens and Bruins both qualifying for the next round, which would create a Canadiens-Penguins second round matchup.

Over at TSN, Ottawa’s elimination means that the specialty channel won’t cover a Canadian team in the second round. The network’s best shot at continuing its ratings bonanza is to have its Canadiens-Capitals series go seven games – perhaps with an overtime or two thrown in – but have the Capitals win in the end. As mentioned above, CBC can’t get all three of Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and Washington, so TSN would still have a marquee series going into the second round. Needless to say, the opposite outcome is desired at sister station RDS, which has a vested interest in seeing the Canadiens advance as far as they can go.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:
Capitals at Canadiens - Game 6, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Sabres at Bruins - Game 6, 7 p.m. (CBC)
Blackhawks at Predators - Game 6, 9 p.m. (TSN - joined in progress)

CBC Finally Catches a Break

After a difficult opening week in the playoffs for Hockey Night in Canada, CBC finally had some good news to report in its Senators-Penguins series, with last night’s do-or-die situation for Ottawa going into triple overtime and the Senators eventually living to play another game. That “other game” will go Saturday at 7 o’clock, ensuring that CBC will not have to go two straight weeks without a broadcast at its most popular hour. The triple overtime affair and subsequent Saturday night telecast should both help improve CBC’s ratings, which have been less than stellar so far. The Ottawa win also increases the odds that CBC could have at least one Canadian-based team to cover in the second round – another potential ratings booster.

After its colossal blunder in passing on the Canadiens-Capitals series, CBC will need to make a come-from-behind push if it wants to save face in its ratings war with TSN. The NHL is reporting a viewership increase of 103% on TSN through the first week of this year’s playoffs compared to the same period last year, while CBC’s numbers are only up 17%. BBM Canada reports that TSN drew an average of 1.785 million for the first two games of the Canadiens-Capitals matchup, while CBC attracted 1.656 million for its opening week telecasts. Considering TSN trailed CBC in the ratings by more than a 2-to-1 margin during the regular season, these new playoff numbers represent a landslide victory for TSN. CBC can only hope that the events of the past 24 hours will start to turn the tide.

THIS WEEKEND’S GAMES:
Tonight
Canadiens at Capitals – Game 5, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Bruins at Sabres – Game 5, 7 p.m. (CBC)
Kings at Canucks – Game 5, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS – joined in progress)
Red Wings at Coyotes – Game 5, 10 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Saturday
Predators at Blackhawks – Game 5, 3 p.m. (NBC)/(TSN)/(RDS)
Penguins at Senators – Game 6, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Sharks at Avalanche – Game 6, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Sunday
Coyotes at Red Wings – Game 6, 2 p.m. (NBC)/(TSN)/(RDS)
Canucks at Kings – Game 6, 9 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)

Better Not Be Late for Overtime

I’m admittedly not watching much of the Bruins-Sabres series, what with it running on CBC directly opposite the Canadiens-Capitals on TSN. But last night, with the Capitals defeating the Canadiens in regulation, I caught the Bruins-Sabres overtime periods. They were as good as overtime gets, with chances end-to-end, starting with a Sabres power play that did everything but score, immediately followed by a Bruins shorthanded breakaway. And it’s a good thing for CBC that the two goalies were up to the challenge, because the public broadcaster spent a little too much time on a Peter Mansbridge news update and missed the first 30 seconds of the first overtime period. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would have been for Hockey Night in Canada had the game been decided in those opening 30 seconds? Yikes!

Last night’s game notwithstanding, early goals in the extra frame are very much in vogue in this year’s playoffs. It only took Washington’s Niklas Backstrom 31 seconds to beat Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak in game two of the Canadiens-Capitals series last Saturday night, and Colorado’s Ryan O’Reilly was credited with the overtime winner at the 51 second mark of game three of the Avalanche-Sharks series earlier this week. O’Reilly’s heroics were the result of San Jose’s Dan Boyle trying to backhand the puck behind his own goal, only to have it deflect off O’Reilly’s body and into the net. You can’t get a more unlucky bounce in overtime . . . unless, of course, you’re the network executive who decided to stay with a news update for an extra minute and missed the whole thing.

In hindsight, CBC was fortunate to have picked the right game in which to make such a significant timing blunder. But the network is playing with fire if it lets it happen again.

TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Flyers at Devils – Game 5, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Senators at Penguins – Game 5, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Blackhawks at Predators – Game 4, 8:30 p.m. (TSN2)/(RIS – joined in progress)
Avalanche at Sharks – Game 5, 10:30 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)

Let's Hear Those Anthems

What makes the playoffs so exciting for hockey fans is the atmosphere and unique rituals found in each of the arenas lucky enough to host post-season contests. Characterized by octopuses and whiteouts, this year’s Detroit-Phoenix series is proving to be a favourite with both fans and media alike. Hockey traditions in many cities begin with the national anthems, and it’s unfortunate that this piece of pre-game theatre doesn’t always get the media attention that it deserves, particularly in the United States.

In Boston, Rene Rancourt has been singing at Bruin games for almost 30 years, and the playoffs wouldn’t be the same without his signature salute and fist-pump at the end of the U.S. anthem. In Philadelphia, emotion is at its highest when the late Kate Smith appears on the scoreboard from an era gone by and sings God Bless America.



And in Chicago, the crowd is swept into a frenzy as the organ belts out the tune of the Star Spangled Banner. But while the national anthems are a fixture every Saturday night on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, NBC almost never televises hockey anthem performances prior to the Stanley Cup Finals – and even then, the record is spotty at best.

With hockey traditions not as plentiful south of the border as they are in this country, it’s too bad that NBC doesn’t do more to embrace some of the best traditions at its disposal. The U.S. network will televise game five of the Predators-Blackhawks series on Saturday afternoon, and it would be great to hear that Chicago organ on NBC.

TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Capitals at Canadiens – Game 4, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Sabres at Bruins – Game 4, 7 p.m. (CBC)
Canucks at Kings – Game 4, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS – joined in progress)

Early Numbers Underscore CBC's Blunder

TSN may be Canada's most watched specialty network, but over-the-air CBC benefits from a penetration rate into Canadian homes of close to 100%. It's not surprising, therefore, that the public broadcaster significantly outdraws its cable competitor when it comes to hockey audiences. For example, according to the NHL, Hockey Night in Canada on CBC averaged 1.4 million viewers during this past regular season, whereas the NHL on TSN was able to attract only 633,000. For those of you doing the math at home, that means that CBC heavily outdrew TSN by more than a 2-to-1 margin.

But preliminary ratings from the first week of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs suggest that, in a shocking reversal of fate, CBC has relinquished its huge lead over TSN and the two networks are now running neck and neck. Media columnist William Houston is reporting that TSN drew 2.1 million viewers for its Saturday night Canadiens-Capitals telecast, while CBC only picked-up 35,000 more for its Canucks-Kings broadcast later that evening. Even worse for Hockey Night in Canada, it was only able to pull-in 1.69 million the next night for the Senators-Penguins.

Considering TSN’s paltry penetration rate compared with that of the CBC, Houston’s numbers would represent a landslide victory for the sports cable channel. With more detailed (and official) ratings scheduled to be released later this week, my earlier suspicions about CBC committing a huge error by choosing to pass on the Canadiens-Capitals series may very well be confirmed. And with all three Canadian-based teams currently trailing 2-1 in their respective series, CBC may not get the opportunity to correct its gaffe come the second round.

TONIGHT’S GAMES:
Coyotes at Red Wings – Game 4, 6:30 p.m. (TSN)
Penguins at Senators – Game 4, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Devils at Flyers – Game 4, 7:30 p.m. (TSN2)/(RIS)
Blackhawks at Predators – Game 3, 9 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS – joined in progress)
Sharks at Avalanche – Game 4, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)

NHL Could Learn from Pierre McGuire

Frequently forced to juggle his Canadian and U.S. broadcasting duties, TSN/NBC analyst Pierre McGuire employs a strikingly different approach than that used by the game he covers. Unlike the NHL, which routinely accommodates U.S. television interests at the expense of the Canadian public and, at times, even the integrity of the game itself, McGuire doesn't ditch respect for throngs of Canadian hockey fans just because he has a contract with NBC.

For example, it would have been all too easy for McGuire to abandon TSN mid-way during the World Junior Hockey Championships in Saskatoon earlier this year so that he could travel to Boston and cover the outdoor Winter Classic game for NBC. But he didn't. It would have been all too easy for McGuire to disappear from Canada's Olympic coverage so that he could work the Gold Medal game on NBC. But he didn't. And it would have been all too easy for McGuire to be missing in action from Saturday night's Canadiens-Capitals game on TSN so that he could appear on NBC's weekend afternoon telecasts. But he didn't. Although McGuire is prepared to accommodate U.S. television interests whenever possible, he isn't prepared to alienate established hockey fans on this side of the border to do it.

Conversely, the NHL does almost everything it can to please U.S. broadcasting partner NBC - more often than not at the expense of the league's loyal Canadian fanbase. Remember that outdoor Winter Classic in Boston? Well, the Bruins wanted to play against their natural rivals from Montreal, but NBC pushed the NHL to schedule an American opponent for Boston in order to try and maximize local U.S. ratings. And, so, instead of playing Montreal, the Bruins hosted Philadelphia. In fact, since the Winter Classic became an annual tradition in 2008, all three matchups have been entirely U.S.-based to please NBC. Not only have Canadian teams been barred from appearing in the Winter Classic, but they've also been prohibited until now from staging separate outdoor games of their own so as not to dilute the novelty of NBC's annual outdoor product. Although Calgary has been conditionally approved to host an outdoor contest in 2011, rumour has it that the game won't be marketed under NBC's Winter Classic umbrella. Surprise, surprise.

Then there's the yearly struggle regarding the playoff schedule: Canadian networks like Saturday night games but NBC wants weekend afternoon games. Both get what they want while there are enough series to distribute, but Saturday night games are always sacrificed once enough teams are eliminated and the Conference Finals come along. In 2007, not only did NBC arrange to have Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final between Buffalo and Ottawa air on Saturday afternoon instead of Saturday night, but the network then abandoned the telecast when the game went into overtime and created a conflict with a horse race preview show. As for the Stanley Cup Finals themselves, last season saw the NHL schedule games on back-to-back dates for the first time in 54 years so as not to interfere with NBC's 10 o'clock debut of The Jay Leno Show. And even though Leno has since returned to his 11:35 timeslot, NBC tentatively lists Game 1 of this year's Stanley Cup Finals for June 5 at 6:30, followed by Game 2 the very next day at 8 o'clock.

Unlike Canadian networks, which pay through the nose for NHL television rights, NBC pays no upfront fee to carry the games. Although I'm not familiar with the terms of Pierre McGuire's contracts with TSN and NBC, suffice it to say that he earns a lot more each year covering a plethora of hockey games for TSN than he does working a dozen or so for NBC. Money, no doubt, influences McGuire's decisions when conflicted between Canadian and U.S. interests. It's surprising that the NHL doesn't use the same rationale for solving its trans-border broadcasting dilemmas. The league may not see it, but when it comes to hockey, there's simply more money to be made up here than there is down there.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:
Capitals at Canadiens - Game 3, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Sabres at Bruins - Game 3, 7 p.m. (CBC)
Canucks at Kings - Game 3, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS - joined in progress)

Saturday Night is Hockey Night on TSN

First it was the theme song, now it's the coveted Saturday night timeslot. Canadians turning the dial to CBC on Saturday night at 7 o'clock, expecting to get their weekly fix of Hockey Night in Canada, will instead be treated to the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling. The big game, minus Don Cherry, will be on TSN - at least for this week.

It has become almost an annual tradition in recent years that the CBC get short-changed by NHL schedule-makers come playoff time, with the latter preferring to cater to the tastes of the Glow Puck on FOX or Jay Leno on NBC. But this year's Saturday scheduling gaffe has nothing to do with the league and everything to do with the CBC's incompetence.

With the slate highlighted by the Canadiens-Capitals at 7 o'clock, followed by the Canucks-Kings at 10 o'clock, the stars were aligned for a perfect Hockey Night in Canada doubleheader on Saturday night, just like in the regular season. But when CBC passed on the Canadiens-Capitals series, it gave-up the most lucrative timeslot in all of hockey to its broadcast competitor. With the early game heavily outdrawing the late game on any given Saturday night, TSN will have scored a major ratings coup before CBC signs-on at 9:30 for its pre-game show of the second contest.

And don't count on CBC recovering its losses the following week: Unless the Senators-Penguins series goes at least six games, CBC will once again be without a telecast at hockey's flagship hour.

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES:
Tonight
Senators at Penguins - Game 2, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Flyers at Devils - Game 2, 7:30 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Predators at Blackhawks - Game 1, 8:30 p.m. (TSN2)
Red Wings at Coyotes - Game 2, 10 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Avalanche at Sharks - Game 2, 10:30 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Saturday
Bruins at Sabres - Game 2, 1 p.m. (CBC)/(NBC)/(RDS)
Canadiens at Capitals - Game 2, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Kings at Canucks - Game 2, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS - joined in progress)
Sunday
Coyotes at Red Wings - Game 3, 3 p.m. (TSN)/(NBC)/(RDS)
Devils at Flyers - Game 3, 6 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Penguins at Senators - Game 3, 6:30 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Predators at Blackhawks - Game 2, 8:30 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Sharks at Avalanche - Game 3, 9:30 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)

Cuthbert Shutout from TSN's Top Line

Foster Hewitt, Danny Gallivan, Bob Cole, and Chris Cuthbert: Conventional wisdom once held that this was going to be the natural evolution at Hockey Night in Canada. Until, that is, Cuthbert was terminated by CBC in early 2005 - a casualty of the NHL's season-long lockout. TSN wasted little time hiring Cuthbert and having him work the network's top CFL telecasts, including the Grey Cup Championship Game. But when it came to hockey, TSN was - and still is - reluctant to give Cuthbert what he has rightfully earned.

During the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a power outage at the Montreal Forum forced CBC to switch away from the lead Canadiens-Bruins telecast to the back-up Capitals-Devils game. Cuthbert, who had been positioned solo in Washington to provide sporadic updates on the out-of-town scoreboard, suddenly found himself doing play-by-play, providing colour commentary, and acting as intermission host. Impressed with his work, CBC made Cuthbert into a Hockey Night in Canada regular - first pairing him alongside Dick Irvin for Canadiens games and, later, assigning him to the second game of the network's doubleheader. In 1998, Cuthbert won a Gemini Award for Best Sports Broadcaster and, in 2004, was recognized by Sports Media Canada as Sportscaster of the Year. It was Cuthbert who called the outdoor Heritage Classic game between the Canadiens and Oilers and it was Cuthbert who was scheduled to take over primary play-by-play duties for Bob Cole when the latter retired. But then the lockout hit, CBC had to cut costs, and Cuthbert ended-up at TSN.

For whatever reason, TSN has always considered Cuthbert second fiddle to Gord Miller. I have nothing against Miller or his work, but no one is ever going to mention him in the same breath as Foster Hewitt or Danny Gallivan. Nonetheless, since Cuthbert joined TSN, most of the top hockey work has gone Miller's way. The one notable exception was the Gold Medal Game at the Vancouver Olympics, but only because Cuthbert had it explicitly written into his contract. Other than that one game, Miller regularly gets the network's top assignments: Calling Canada's semi-final game and two of Canada's three preliminary round games at the Olympics (including the key matchup with the U.S.), the entirety of the annual World Junior Hockey Championship Tournament, and the best of TSN's NHL schedule.

Case in point: Chris Cuthbert was on the air last night from New Jersey, covering TSN's secondary Devils-Flyers series alongside Ray Ferraro. Why? Because Gord Miller will be on the air tonight from Washington, covering TSN's primary Capitals-Canadiens series with Pierre McGuire.

Now that the Olympics are over, one has to wonder for how long TSN can relegate Cuthbert to back-up duties. The chance to call Team Canada's gold medal performance on home ice was a once in a lifetime opportunity that Cuthbert now has under his belt. With that experience behind him, one would imagine he isn't going to be satisfied being demoted to the likes of the Philadelphia-New Jersey series for much longer.

Could Cuthbert return to Hockey Night in Canada? It may be emotionally difficult to do so - perhaps for both parties - but the fact is that CBC is in desperate need of play-by-play talent. After Jim Hughson, there isn't much long-term depth on the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasting bench. Bob Cole is in his late 70s and can't keep working forever, and neither Mark Lee nor Dean Brown is a serious contender to move up to the big games. If Cuthbert continues to be shutout from TSN's top line, he may be the heir apparent on Hockey Night in Canada after all.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:
Canadiens at Capitals - Game 1, 7 p.m. (TSN)/(RDS)
Bruins at Sabres - Game 1, 7 p.m. (CBC)
Kings at Canucks - Game 1, 10 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)

CBC Scores On Its Own Net

It used to be that Hockey Night in Canada could waltz into the Stanley Cup Playoffs each year, contractually entitled to broadcast every game involving a Canadian-based team and guaranteed to attract the maximum number of hockey eyeballs to the small screen. But ever since the league introduced a new television deal last season, our public broadcaster is having to make some tough choices to try and fend off rival TSN . . . and it's not doing a very good job.

Under the new deal, broadcast rights for each of the eight opening round series are now distributed via a draft. CBC holds the first and second picks, but then TSN gets to pick third, with CBC selecting fourth, TSN fifth, CBC sixth, and TSN seventh and eighth. What this means is that once three Canadian teams have qualified for the playoffs, CBC risks losing one of them to TSN. This year, with Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal all making the post-season, CBC couldn't protect all three teams from TSN's reach. But letting TSN snap-up the Montreal-Washington series could prove to be a ratings disaster for Hockey Night in Canada.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the playoff picture (again!), the public broadcaster gave up its most valuable remaining property in the Montreal Canadiens (sorry Vancouver and Ottawa, but you're just not in the same category when it comes to a national fanbase as the Leafs and Habs). CBC also gave up arguably the most popular player in the league in Washington's Alex Ovechkin. Now I know that Sidney Crosby might have something to say about my last statement, but even if he were to edge out Ovechkin, there is no way that it could compensate for the Canadiens national popularity over the Senators.

I keep using terms like "national fanbase" and "national popularity" because there seems to be this conspiracy floating around on the internet that French-language broadcaster RDS somehow erodes English-language ratings for Canadiens games by such a large margin that it isn't in CBC's interest to broadcast the Habs when other options are available. This is absolute nonsense. With the exception of one game in Nashville, CBC televised each and every Habs contest played on a Saturday night this season. Until the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs, most of the Hab games were shown in Quebec only, where the competition with RDS is most fierce. Surely, if it made sense for CBC to go head-to-head with RDS all season long in the only region of the country where the latter network is dominant, then it makes sense now for CBC to compete with RDS on the national stage where the latter network is largely a fringe specialty channel. And, again, for a team like the Montreal Canadiens, the national audience brings in big numbers - more than Vancouver playing another west-coast team (read: late night starts on the east-coast for the entire series) and more than Ottawa (read: the Canadian team with the least following).

There is another rumour circulating on-line that says the Habs were shunned because their series with Washington is expected to be over quickly and not in Montreal's favour. So what? If, as expected, the Vancouver Canucks are the only team from Canada that advances to the next round, then CBC will have plenty of opportunities to air games late at night when most of the country has already gone to bed. The broadcaster should make the most of prime-time TV while it can.

TONIGHT'S GAMES:
Senators at Penguins - Game 1, 7 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)
Flyers at Devils - Game 1, 7:30 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Red Wings at Coyotes - Game 1, 10 p.m. (TSN)/(RIS)
Avalanche at Sharks - Game 1, 10:30 p.m. (CBC)/(RDS)