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NBC doing a fine job ignoring hockey

The final weekend of the NHL regular season is upon us, and what a doozie it will be. There are a couple division races still to be decided and two playoff spots are up for grabs.

Montreal and Toronto battle it out tonight for the eighth seed in the East with a one-point margin separating the two teams. Les Habitants have lost eight of their last 10 games on the road, while the mighty Maple Leafs are looking to match a franchise record nine straight wins at home.

But don’t forget about the New York Islanders. The Isles are just two points behind the Canadiens with two games left to play, so a loss by Montreal could open the door for the team from the suburbs. New York squares off against the awful, retched Flyers this afternoon but they’ll need to get past the division champion Devils if they want a shot at post-season glory.

Speaking of division champions, the top spot in the Northwest division is still up for grabs with Vancouver enjoying a one-point margin over the Minnesota Wild. The Canucks could clinch the title if they can beat the red-hot Sharks tonight, but San Jose is playing for their own division title, needing a win and a loss by Anaheim to best the Ducks in the Pacific. Minnesota, meanwhile, gets a break as they play the not as bad as last year but still not very good St. Louis Blues.

There’s more excitement in the West, though, as Calgary tries to fend off Colorado for the eighth seed in the playoff. Three points is the margin, but both teams have two games to play. The Flames host the provincial rival Oilers tonight and could clinch with a win, but a loss would open the door for the Avs, who play Nashville at home. The two teams square off tomorrow in what could be a do-or-die showdown.

Now with all that going on in the world of hockey, you’d think that the NHL’s national broadcast partner would be pleased as punch and scrambling to get some of these great games on the air. You’d think. But, alas, NBC reached into the grab-bag of games months ago when they scheduled their Sunday afternoon games and pulled out a blockbuster match-up between the Dallas Stars and the Chicago Blackhawks. Wow!

NBC, if you are going to be the hockey network, and we all think you should, you need to show a little passion for this new sport you’ve aligned yourselves with. How about you put a call into whoever you put these calls into and put on the Montreal-Toronto game tonight. Even better, how about a double header with the Flames and Sharks on late. Seriously, you can bump that three-hour block of Let’s Make A Deal or No Deal or reruns of Law & Order for some hockey, no one will care. But hockey fans will love you and richly reward you with ratings for it.

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