STANLEY CUP FINAL RETURNS TO NBC FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1975 AS CAROLINA AND EDMONTON FACE OFF IN GAME 3, SATURDAY 8 PM ET

NBC's McGuire on Edmonton's Northlands Coliseum: "It's tough, loud and mean, everything hockey is supposed to be."

NEW YORK �- June 8, 2006 �- NBC Sports drops the puck on its first Stanley Cup Final since 1975 with live primetime coverage of Game 3, as the Edmonton Oilers host the Carolina Hurricanes at Northlands Coliseum, Saturday, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. NBC's Stanley Cup Final coverage, presented by Sprint, will be broadcast in high definition.

When NBC last broadcast the Final, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Buffalo Sabres in six games to capture the 1975 Cup, with the help of NBC studio host Bill Clement, who scored a late goal to seal the Flyers 2-0, Game 6, Cup-clinching victory.

Mike Emrick (play-by-play), John Davidson (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) will call the action. Stanley Cup winners Clement and Ed Olczyk, along with former NHL All-Star Ray Ferraro, lead NBC's studio team on site in Edmonton.

"The Northlands Coliseum is the most difficult building for a visiting team in all of sports," said McGuire. "It's tough, loud and mean, everything hockey is supposed to be."

Davidson said: "The on ice product is phenomenal. It's remarkable how much has changed since the lockout and for the better. I was blind to it a little bit before. The coaches don't have nearly the control of the game that they used to, which is a good thing."

NBC's Stanley Cup Final Broadcast Schedule (all times 8 p.m. ET)

Game 3 Saturday, June 10 Carolina at Edmonton

Game 4 Monday, June 12 Carolina at Edmonton

Game 5 * Wednesday, June 14 Edmonton at Carolina

Game 6 * Saturday, June 17 Carolina at Edmonton

Game 7 * Monday, June 19 Edmonton at Carolina

*if necessary

The Hockey News: "The biggest innovation to hit televised hockey in recent years is NBC's 'Inside The Glass.'": NBC will utilize McGuire "inside-the-glass," reporting from between the teams' benches as opposed to the traditional corner runway position. The "Inside-the-Glass" reporter, similar to NASCAR pit reporters, can provide news, strategy and analysis during the heat of the action.

HISTORY OF NHL ON NBC

On May 19, 2004, NBC and the NHL announced a two-year agreement on a partnership for NBC to televise NHL games. The partnership, which began this season, may be renewed for an additional two years at NBC's option.

NBC was the first U.S. network to air a national broadcast of Stanley Cup Playoff hockey, providing coverage of four Sunday afternoon games during the 1966 postseason. The contract began with the April 10 game from Chicago Stadium between the Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings, with Win Elliot calling play-by-play and Bill Mazer serving as analyst (final score: Detroit 7, Chicago 0).

NBC would reappear to televise games for three seasons beginning with the 1972-73 season. In the final year of the contract, 1974-75, 14 regular season games and seven Stanley Cup Playoff games were broadcast. The 1973-74 broadcasts featured, for the first time, all players' names on the back of their uniforms and a new between periods feature titled "Showdown," with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the League's greatest players going head-to-head in a penalty shot competition. The NBC NHL broadcast team from 1972-75 featured Tim Ryan doing play-by-play, Ted Lindsay as analyst and Brian MacFarlane as host.

NBC televised the NHL All-Star Game from 1990-94.