The Penguins are a team that has grown quite accustomed to national attention in recent years. Put simply, Sidney Crosby and Co. are TV ratings gold, both in Pittsburgh and across the country.
Predictably, the Penguins are scheduled to appear in 15 nationally-televised games this season, seven of them on NBC Sports Network's "Wednesday Night Hockey." Only the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals have more midweek appearances with eight .
The Peacock Network announced on Monday that NBCSN will televise a network-record 109 games in the 2018-19 season, beginning with the Capitals raising their banner on Wednesday, Oct. 3 before their game against the Boston Bruins.
That game will be the start of what NBC is calling "Wednesday Night Hockey," a change from "Rivalry Night." The impetus of "WNH" is that it will showcase a more diverse schedule and better promote the NHL's current and rising stars. One of those games will be Feb. 13 at PPG Paints Arena between Crosby's Penguins and Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
“With the impressive growth of fan interest in non-traditional NHL markets combined with the emergence of a number of rising stars, we felt the time was right to broaden our Wednesday night schedule and evolve the brand,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president, production at NBC Sports and NBCSN. “Fans will still see plenty of games between traditional powers, but our new approach to Wednesday nights – including a record number of doubleheaders – allows us to show more rising stars and more Western Conference and Canadian teams than ever before.”
Seventeen of the 25 "Wednesday Night Hockey" broadcasts will feature doubleheaders with a near-equal balance of Eastern and Western Conference teams.
In addition to Wednesday nights, NBC will also televise the 2019 Winter Classic on New Year's Day between the Blackhawks and Bruins at Notre Dame Stadium, along with the Feb. 23 Stadium Series Game at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field between the host Flyers and the Penguins.
NBC will also televise the 2019 All-Star Weekend in San Jose. The All-Star Game will be televised in primetime on NBC on Jan. 26, making it the first time the game will be televised on a network broadcast since 1997.
All games will be streamed live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app to authenticated users via TV Everywhere.
The Penguins' 71 other games will be shown locally on AT&T Sports Net Pittsburgh.
NETWORK STARS
A look at the Penguins' 15 nationally televised games to be shown on NBC networks this season:
Wednesday, Nov. 7 vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN
Wednesday, Nov. 28 at Colorado, 9:30 p.m., NBCSN
Wednesday, Dec. 12 at Chicago, 8 p.m., NBCSN
Wednesday, Dec. 19 at Washington, 8 p.m., NBCSN
Wednesday, Jan. 2 vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m., NBCSN
Tuesday, Jan. 6. vs. Chicago, 8 p.m., NBCSN
Wednesday, Jan. 30 vs. Tampa Bay, 8 p.m., NBCSN
Monday, Feb. 11 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m., NBCSN
Wednesday, Feb. 13 vs. Edmonton, 8 p.m., NBCSN
Sunday, Feb. 17 vs. New York Rangers, 12:30 p.m., NBC
Saturday, Feb. 23 at Philadelphia, 8 p.m., NBC
Thursday, March 7 vs. Columbus, 7 p.m., NBCSN
Sunday, March 10 vs. Boston, 8 p.m., NBCSN
Tuesday, March 12 vs. Washington, 7 p.m., NBCSN
Sunday, March 17 vs. Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN
Note: All games subject to change