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By RACHEL COHEN
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – The NHL is hoping its television viewership will bounce back from another lockout.
Ratings rebounded – eventually – after the last work stoppage, which wiped out an entire season. Healthy numbers from recent years in many cases matched or exceeded pre-lockout levels in an era of ever-increasing entertainment options.
When this year’s lockout-shortened slate opens Saturday, NBC will show the Los Angeles Kings raising their championship banner, then regional coverage of Blackhawks-Kings or Penguins-Flyers. The network plans to show the most hockey since it started televising the league after the last lockout, with 14 regular-season windows for games.
Executive producer Sam Flood says: “The hockey fan is a passionate group, and we’re cautiously optimistic they’ll come back.”
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