Just As I Thought

So the information last week that all 82 Caps games will be televised this season was wrong. It will be only 81 games this season. The lone game out is as I said the November 6th game in Atlanta.

Of course, NBC has the "flex scheduling" which allows them to drop and add games on their broadcast days as they so choose. I for one would not be surprised in the least to see the Caps get scrubbed at least once.

But let me reiterate what I did back in August, there's no excuse for the NHL to prohibit the television broadcasting of any of their games in the United States. The NHL is not the NFL and cannot afford to blackout its fans like this.

If the NHL wants to do a "Game Of the Week" with an exclusive broadcast, that's fine. They however need to ensure that they won't be blacking out any other markets. Even if it is only two or three games a season, that's still two or three games too many.

The one interesting aspect is that with the introduction of Comcast SportsNet+, the Caps will no longer have an over-the-air TV affiliate. I'm wondering if this is because WDCW is making their airtime more expensive or if Comcast just feels like there's no need to use them anymore? Either way, it means that Center Ice will carry the Caps broadcast for every home game not on NBC or Versus.