With the Florida Panthers out of the playoffs — and the Detroit Red Wings close to joining them for the summer — TNT has dropped its planned coverage of next Wednesday’s season finale.
According to various sources, and the official NHL schedule, the Panthers’ home game against the Red Wings on April 15 will be returned to local broadcasters.
So, Monday’s game against the Rangers will not be the final time we get to hear Steve Goldstein and Randy Moller calling a hockey game until next season.
For fans of the Red Wings, their local broadcast on FanDuel Sports Detroit may be the end of an era as that outlet closes.
The Wings and Tigers will be together on the new Detroit SportsNet next season.
TNT has replaced the Panthers and Wings with a game in Buffalo between the Dallas Stars and Sabres — two teams that could go deep in the playoffs, or get knocked out in a brutal first-round series.
Dallas is already locked in to play the Minnesota Wild in Round 1; the Sabres could open with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, or the top wild-card out of the Eastern Conference if they win the division.
Detroit, unlike the Panthers, still has an outside shot of making the playoffs but comes into Wednesday three points out with four games remaining.
The Panthers have four games remaining in the regular season starting tonight against the host Ottawa Senators.
Florida will play two more games in Sunrise on Monday and Wednesday.
And, all four games will be carried on the Panthers’ Scripps Network and can now be streamed on Panthers+ and ESPN+ nationally.
The Panthers have been off Comcast Xfinity cable due to a national carriage dispute between the E.G. Scripps company and the media behemoth.
On March 31, Xfinity pulled local Scripps channels off their service — in the middle of the Panthers’ eventual 6-3 win over the Senators.
ON DECK: GAME No. 79
FLORIDA PANTHERS at OTTAWA SENATORS