As part of its live coverage of 75 regular-season NHL games, the NHL Network in the USA will show the CBC's Hockey Night In Canada coverage every week during the upcoming season -- including the pre-game and post-game shows.

They really seem to have refined their coverage, if not expanded it. I don't recall exactly how many games they televised last year. This year they feature:

* Live NHL games every Saturday night throughout the season
* 26 double-headers and 1 triple-header
* 17 Wednesday-night games featuring TSN's broadcast of Wednesday Night Hockey
* 5 original NHL Network game productions

Last year, the games they showed were not on Saturdays, and they weren't original NHL Network games. They just picked up local teams' broadcasts and cut in between periods. I think some of the games they picked up were TSN games, though. Having HNIC makes the NHL Network more valuable (and probably makes the NHL Center Ice package less so, unless they continue to pick it up as well).

By the way, the Lightning-Rangers and Senators-Penguins games overseas this weekend are televised in the USA -- Saturday's games are on NHL Network and Sunday's are on Versus.

Cool. In addition Center Ice is supposed to be on a freebie from between today and the 14th of October too. DROP THE PUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think Center Ice has any games until the 9th, when the rest of the league starts the regular season.

now if only HNIC could have kept their signature theme song I'd REALLY celebrate.....gonna be so weird not hearing it....

TSN games will have the old Hockey Night In Canada theme song. Not sure if these links will work. But they've had the Toronto symphony Orchestra re-record that classic.
http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/#clip96033
http://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=250569

As for Hockey Night In Canada on CBC - they are down to the 5 semi-finalists to replace it.
http://anthemchallenge.cbc.ca/