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A bit over 3 minutes to watch.

added 12:23pm, watch the full podcast below.

via the NHL PR department,

TNT to Crown Champion with Stanley Cup Final and Extensive Stanley Cup Playoffs Coverage; Rights to Up to 72 Exclusive Live Regular Season Games, Including NHL Winter Classic Each Season

Comprehensive Agreement Also Highlighted by Live Streaming Rights; Expansive Digital and Highlight Rights for Bleacher Report and More

Turner Sports, a division of WarnerMedia, and the National Hockey League have reached a multi-faceted, seven-year agreement set to begin with the 2021-22 season, it was announced today by Jeff Zucker, Chairman, WarnerMedia News & Sports, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. This historic multimedia rights agreement will bring the Stanley Cup Final and Stanley Cup Playoffs to TNT and TBS for the first time, along with providing Turner Sports rights to up to 72 regular season games and the NHL Winter Classic each season.

from Luke DeCock of the News & Observer,

Because this team expected no less than this, and because it has indeed elevated its game from last season and the season before, this can’t be enough. Amid the disruption of last season and the stifling uncomfortability of the playoff bubble, there were times when it seemed like the Hurricanes were merely happy to be there, especially as the Boston series went sideways.

There hasn’t been any of that this season, and there shouldn’t be any of that in the playoffs, and there can’t be any of it now. The stakes are just as high over the final eight games as they were over the first 48. In this division, with three heavyweights slugging it out at the top, finishing first means more than hanging a banner.

With the obvious and perennial caveat that every playoff series is its own miniature universe, the odds will lean heavily toward the team among the Carolina-Tampa-Florida trio that doesn’t have to play one of the other two in the first round. That 2-3 semifinal series in the Central Division has the potential to be an absolute slog, every bit as difficult as the division final will be. No disrespect to Dallas or Nashville, but the gap between the top three and the rest of the division is tangible and significant. There’s a reward for finishing strong, and the Hurricanes control their own destiny to claim it.

Closing out the season the right way and claiming the division title would be a statement of intent from a team that has shown its Stanley Cup window is as open as anyone’s. There are 12 players on this team who participated in the first-round win over the Washington Capitals in 2019. That core is as experienced in the postseason as it is going to get. With the addition of Vincent Trocheck, Brady Skjei, Martin Necas, Jesper Fast and Alex Nedeljkovic to that group, their time has come and it has come now.

more

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Hurricanes rallied in the third period to collect a point and become the first team from the Discover Central Division to clinch a berth in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Connor McDavid helped the Oilers overtake second place in the Scotia North Division with his third hat trick of 2020-21 and is now on pace for 99 points this season.

* The Predators prevented the Panthers and Lightning from clinching a postseason berth and were one of four teams to boost their playoff hopes on Monday.