The Vegas Golden Knights celebrated its first Stanley Cup Championship ahead of puck drop in the season opener against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night. By the time the pregame festivities had concluded and it was time for puck drop, it was 11:16 PM ET/8:16 p.m. PT, nearly a half hour after the conclusion of the preceding game.
The game was the final of an opening night tripleheader on ESPN, which pushed puck-drop back from its originally intended 10:30 PM ET/8:30 PM PT start.
“They didn’t even need that because at least on the ESPN/ESPN+ stream, they didn’t even start that until 8:05,” co-host Danny Smyth said on The Press Box Wednesday morning on ESPN Las Vegas. “They could have kept the 7:30 start time and it would have dropped at 7:45.”
In the end, the Golden Knights matchup was delayed, and it is unknown if the start time would have been altered had the preceding game entered overtime. The Blackhawks-Penguins showdown marked the highly anticipated NHL debut of No. 1 overall draft pick, Chicago forward Connor Bedard.
“It would have been fine with how late they pushed everything back,” co-host Tyler Bischoff explained. “What a nightmare – we’re complaining about not getting enough sleep. I’m just glad Ed’s here.”
“It was fortunate I was able to get up,” co-host Ed Graney shared. “6:13 I get out – it’s every morning at 6:13 – I’m up way before that, but 6:13, and then this morning, I looked and it was 6:16 and I started to panic. I said, ‘Oh no.’”
The Walt Disney Company is in the third season of a seven-year broadcast pact with the National Hockey League worth a reported $400 million annually. ABC and ESPN platforms will serve as the broadcast home of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the second such occurrence under the broadcast agreement.
