Saturday night’s all right! From the opening face off to the victorious hoisting of hockey’s Holy Grail, CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA continues a 55-year tradition, bringing Canadians exclusive, comprehensive coverage of the must-see 2008 Stanley Cup Final in High-Definition. 

The series kicks off on Saturday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET, live from Joe Louis Arena with Scotiabank Hockey Tonight, followed by Henrik Zetterberg and the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings facing off against Sidney Crosby - in his Stanley Cup Final debut - and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the champs of the Eastern Conference.  Crosby and the young guns in Pittsburgh will be looking to lead the Penguins to their first Cup victory since 1992 (and third in franchise history), while Detroit will be looking to bring home the hardware for the second time this decade (and 11th in franchise history).

Highlights from the Pepsi, Lay’s, Gatorade present Bring Home the Stanley Cup grand prize winner’s playoff party will be featured during CBC’s coverage of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, featuring six-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Messier delivering the Stanley Cup to the home of grand prize winner Adam Bourque, of Summerside, PEI.

The best-of-seven final resumes in Detroit on Monday, May 26, at 8 p.m. ET, as Niklas Lidstrom, Chris Osgood and the Red Wings continue their battle against Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins. CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA then heads to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 28 with Game Three at 8 p.m. ET, live from Mellon Arena.  On Saturday, May 31, Scotiabank Hockey Tonight sets the stage at 7:30 p.m. ET, live from Pittsburgh, followed by Game Four at 8 p.m. ET.  (Please see below for complete 2008 Stanley Cup Final broadcast schedule). 

Hockey fans can visit CBCSports.ca 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the 2008 Stanley Cup Final for the Playoff Tracker - an enhanced interactive viewing environment where users can: watch live video streaming of all CBC’s playoff games, participate in live chats during games, see instant updates from other playoff games and partake in live polling and gaming, as well as comprehensive coverage, including weekly columns from CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA personalities, breaking news, in-depth reports, broadcast schedules and more.

Plus, for the Stanley Cup Final, the Playoff Tracker continues its interactive features for users - live during games! CBC’s Playoff Tracker NanoGaming feature enables viewers to compete with each other by making predictions, answering instant trivia and participating in poll questions, all in real-time as they watch playoff games. By earning points users can see how they stack up next to their friends on Facebook.com and compete for great prizes, all completely free.

CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA will feature the 2008 Stanley Cup Final broadcast in Mandarin and, for the first time ever, Punjabi, live and on demand at CBCSports.ca.  Parminder Singh, host of Omni Television’s Punjabi-language program Chardi Kalaa, will handle play-by-play for the Punjabi language broadcasts, alongside analyst and CBC Radio reporter Harnaryan Singh.  Jason Wang, Mandarin play-by-play voice for the 2007 Vancouver Whitecaps’ home broadcasts on webcast radio and Shaw Multicultural Channel, will call the Stanley Cup Final in Mandarin.

Games broadcast in Punjabi will also be available free to Shaw Digital Cable subscribers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba on channel 291, while games broadcast in Mandarin will be available free to Shaw Digital Cable subscribers in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba on channel 280; to Bell ExpressVu subscribers on channels 249 and 724; to Rogers Digital Cable customers in Ontario and New Brunswick on channel 460; and to Star Choice subscribers on channel 238.  Viewers should contact their local service provider for more details. 

Hockey Night in Canada Radio on SIRIUS offers comprehensive coverage of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final on SIRIUS Satellite Radio’s Channel 122, Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. ET (encore presentation from 6-8 p.m. ET). Hockey Night in Canada Radio is also available on CBCSports.ca, live Monday to Friday from 3 - 4 p.m. ET. Host Jeff Marek is joined by CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA personalities
and other guests throughout the 2008 Stanley Cup Final.

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. With 28 services offered on Radio, Television, the Internet, satellite radio, digital audio, as well as through its record and music distribution service and wireless WAP and SMS messaging services, CBC/Radio-Canada is available how, where, and when Canadians want it.