Toronto, ON - One lucky NHL team will walk away with the evening's biggest prize - the highly coveted #1 overall pick in the 2009 NHL ENTRY DRAFT - when NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly joins the NHL ON TSN broadcast team in studio to reveal the draft order on the SCOTIABANK NHL DRAFT LOTTERY, live Tuesday, April 14 at 8pm et, exclusively on TSN. The 30-minute TSN original production also features in studio the general managers from each of the five NHL teams eligible to win the #1 overall pick. The SCOTIABANK NHL DRAFT LOTTERY will also be carried live on Versus in the U.S. and will be available on-demand at TSN.ca.
The SCOTIABANK NHL DRAFT LOTTERY headlines TSN's prime-time lineup of comprehensive Playoff Preview coverage on April 14 - one day prior to the start of the 2009 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS. Along with the SCOTIABANK NHL DRAFT LOTTERY, TSN gets hockey fans primed for the post-season with the FANTASY PLAYOFF SPECIAL at 8:30pm et and the 60-minute NHL ON TSN PLAYOFF PREVIEW SPECIAL at 9pm et, featuring TSN's resident and soon-to-be-retired post-season prognosticator Maggie the Monkey. Encore presentations of the Playoff Preview coverage on TSN will air on TSN2 on a three-hour delay (see TSN Playoff Preview Broadcast Schedule below). All three programs will also be available on-demand at TSN.ca.
TSN.ca complements TSN's Playoff Preview coverage with a series of live hockey chats with fantasy sports expert Scott Cullen (April 13 at 12 noon et) and Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie (April 14 at 1pm et) and Darren Dreger (April 15 at 2pm et). Fans are invited to email their questions to TSN.ca, with selected questions being answered online during the moderated chat sessions.
Once again, TSN.ca is the definitive online destination for hockey fans in Canada, as the country's leading sports website features all the latest news, analysis, interviews and game highlights, plus insightful hockey blogs and interesting historical NHL post-season facts during the 2009 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS. Fans on-the-go can also keep up with all the post-season action during the NHL Playoffs with up-to-the-minute news on TSN MOBILE - the portable version of TSN's industry-leading sports website, TSN.ca, accessible on any wireless device with Internet capabilities. Fans can also sign up for TSN Text Alerts for breaking NHL playoff news delivered directly to their wireless device.
TSN has live coverage of the first three rounds of the 2009 STANLEY CUP® PLAYOFFS, which begin April 15. TSN will announce its post-season broadcast schedule following the conclusion of the NHL regular season.
TSN's jam-packed Playoff Preview lineup is as follows:
SCOTIABANK NHL DRAFT LOTTERY – April 14 at 8pm et
James Duthie hosts TSN's exclusive live coverage of the SCOTIABANK NHL DRAFT LOTTERY from the TSN Studios. The 30-minute original TSN production features the NHL ON TSN broadcast team joined in studio by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who reveals the lottery results in reverse order, and the general managers from each of the five NHL teams eligible to win the #1 overall pick. Joining the show via satellite are highly-touted top prospects John Tavares of the OHL's London Knights and Victor Hedman of Modo in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. In addition, Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie presents his ranking of the Top 10 players eligible for this year's entry draft and analyzes the results of the lottery.
FANTASY PLAYOFF SPECIAL – April 14 at 8:30pm et
Expect tons of trash talking as TSN's hockey gurus battle for bragging rights and get viewers in shape for their playoff pools in the third-annual FANTASY PLAYOFF SPECIAL. James Duthie hosts the 30-minute show featuring a four-team, snake-style draft involving analyst Pierre McGuire, Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, veteran hockey commentator Dave Hodge, and regular NHL ON TSN contributor Keith Jones. Each will select a team consisting of six forwards, three defencemen and one goalie, for a total of 10 players. A single point is awarded for each goal and assist, while goaltenders earn one point for each playoff victory and shutout recorded during the NHL Playoffs. Together, McGuire, Dreger, Hodge and Jones selected squads for TSN's regular season FANTASY DRAFT SPECIAL, with McGuire and Hodge currently battling it out at the top of the standings. For the FANTASY PLAYOFF SPECIAL, the foursome will draft in reverse order of how they finished in the regular season pool. Dreger is the reigning FANTASY PLAYOFF champion while Jones is the only two-time FANTASY DRAFT winner in the group.
NHL ON TSN PLAYOFF PREVIEW SPECIAL – April 14 at 9pm et
Hosted by James Duthie, the action-packed 60-minute live program includes in-depth analysis of each playoff series by the NHL ON TSN panel featuring Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie and analysts Darren Pang and Peter Laviolette, plus additional insight from analysts Pierre McGuire and Ray Ferraro, reports from correspondents with all Canadian clubs in the post-season, and playoff predictions from NHL coaches and GMs. Hockey Insider Darren Dreger returns with his Hot Seat Picks, as he names the 10 players and coaches that are under pressure to perform during the post-season, while Dave Hodge delivers a playoff edition of his popular Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down feature. In addition, Canada's favourite crab-eating macaque, Maggie the Monkey, puts her 40-35 record on the line when she makes her first-round playoff predictions with her “highly-scientific” method of spinning a wheel. Maggie's career as TSN's resident prognosticating primate comes to an end at the conclusion of the 2009 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS when she retires back to a life of lounging and eating bananas at the Bowmanville Zoo.