The first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs wrapped up last night, and no announcing crew has "settled into their roles more comfortably than NBC's lead hockey team" of Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire, according to Tom Jones of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. With that comfort comes "even more confidence, especially when it comes to being critical of players and coaches." During Saturday night's "outstanding coverage" of Rangers-Canadiens Game 6, Olczyk "laid into the Rangers' Chris Kreider for taking a penalty because he didn't go hard after a puck behind the net." It was a play that "easily could have gone unnoticed or ignored, but not only did Olczyk notice it, he called Kreider out." Jones: "You don't always hear announcers, especially former players such as Olczyk, criticize players like that, but that's what he's paid to do, and he did it well" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/24). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes, "How bad would jail be if you were sentenced to watch six-plus hours of Saturday's Stanley Cup games, Blues-Wild then Habs-Rangers, on NBC?" Mushnick: "What intense, riveting, all-in sport -- even with just a stale cheese sandwich and a cup of water in between? Book me!" (N.Y. POST, 4/24).
HERE TO HELP: SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted Emrick gave an interview on Nashville-based WPRT-FM prior to Game 2 of Predators-Blackhawks, and he "actually gave his email on air for any young broadcaster to contact him interested in getting feedback." Deitsch: "Pretty amazing, given Emrick's stature" (SI.com, 4/23).
HEY YOU, WANNA FIGHT? In Pittsburgh, Jason Mackey wrote while the NFL “sends a lot of quarterbacks to the broadcast booth,” it is the fighters and grinders from the NHL who “transition most often to broadcasting.” Former players such as Root Sports Pittsburgh studio analyst Jay Caufield and FS Ohio Blue Jackets analyst Jody Shelley are now “counted upon to provide insight into how plays happen, what players are thinking and what adjustments teams could and should make.” Among the former NHLers who “all fought regularly to earn a living” and now serve as analysts include FS South's Stu Grimson, CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Alan May, MSG's Rob Ray, KMOX-AM’s Kelly Chase and Sportsnet’s Louie DeBrusk. May said, “The secret to good broadcasting is having a guy who you can imagine sitting on a barstool next to and talking to about the game. They’re great storytellers. I think that’s what all these guys really have in common” (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4/23).
MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: In Nashville, Mike Organ reported the Predators' series-clinching win Thursday night "earned the second-highest local television rating in the franchise's history." WTVF-CBS Program & Research Dir Mark Binda said that the game posted a 6.9 local rating in Nashville, which is behind only a 7.2 for Game 6 of opening round of the '15 playoffs against the Blackhawks (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 4/22).
