The Vancouver Canucks continue their quest for the Stanley Cup on Thursday night on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. (Nick Didlick/Getty Images)The puck drops on the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday night when the Vancouver Canucks host the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.
Coverage on CBC Television and CBCSports.ca begins at 8:30 p.m. ET with a special edition of Scotiabank Hockey Tonight. Play-by-play man Jim Hughson and analyst Craig Simpson will call the action from Vancouver while Scott Oake reports from ice level.
In addition to the entire Vancouver-Chicago series, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada will also bring Canadians every game of the much-anticipated Eastern Conference matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin's Capitals host Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in Game 1 on Saturday afternoon (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 1 p.m. ET). Play-by-play man Bob Cole and analyst Greg Millen will call the series, as Elliotte Friedman reports from rinkside.
The Saturday doubleheader continues with Game 2 of the Vancouver-Chicago series. Coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. ET with an hour-long edition of Scotiabank Hockey Tonight.
The other two conference semifinal series begin on Friday night, with the Boston Bruins hosting the Carolina Hurricanes and the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Anaheim Ducks.
Each night during Round 2, Ron MacLean hosts CBC'S HNIC coverage along with Don Cherry, Kelly Hrudey, Mike Milbury and P.J. Stock. Cherry will cover the Vancouver-Chicago series while Hrudey, Milbury and Stock will join MacLean in-studio throughout the second round to provide insight and analysis of all the conference semifinals.
CBC's exclusive Punjabi broadcasts continue in Round Two, featuring the Vancouver-Chicago series, live and on demand at CBCSports.ca.
The Punjabi broadcasts will be available free to Bell TV subscribers on channel 249; to Rogers digital cable subscribers in Ontario and New Brunswick on channel 401; to Shaw Digital Cable subscribers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba on channel 333 and to Shaw Direct subscribers on channel 478. Viewers should contact their local service provider for more details.
Parminder Singh, voice of CBC'S HNIC regular season Punjabi broadcasts, will handle play-by-play duties while Harnarayan Singh provides analysis.
Fans across the country can follow the second-round action on Stanley Cup Interactive on CBCSports.ca. Hall of Fame journalist Scott Morrison and Hockey Night in Canada Radio on SIRIUS host Jeff Marek will participate in live chats from the Stanley Cup I-Desk during all games broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada.
Fans can also follow the road to the Stanley Cup on their iPhone by visiting cbcsports.ca/iphone/stanleycup2009, where users will be kept up to date on all the playoff series with stats, scores and top stories.
HNIC Radio on SIRIUS will continue with comprehensive coverage of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Channel 122, Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. ET (encore presentation from 7 to 10 p.m. ET). Host Marek will be joined by HNIC personalities and other guests.
