The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-2 in their Stadium Series game at Heinz Field. It was a successful return to a venue where they not only lost their last game, but also Sidney Crosby for over a calendar year.

Outdoor games don't have the same luster that they once did because the league is now reusing both teams and venues. The events might not feel as special, but I still think they are great for the host city and the fan bases involved. Pittsburgh did an excellent job of hosting last night.

Normally I would do a game recap and talk about how great it was to see Sidney Crosby score a goal or how nice it was to see Guentzel perform on a big stage. However, the presentation of this game by the NHL's TV partner was unacceptably bad. A majority of the live hockey action was unwatchable. NBC fell in love with their unique camera angles and wouldn't fall back to the default angle that all hockey games are broadcast with. You know the one where you can actually watch and understand the game play. NBC tried to re-invent the wheel and failed miserably.

In most outdoor games the fans who attend the game are the ones that have difficulty following the action. It is simply because of the distance between the stands and the ice surface. NBC thought that it would be a great idea to give the people at home the same experience.

As somebody who has played hockey my entire life and also somebody that specifically covers the Penguins I couldn't even follow the play on the screen because the camera angles were so bad. I know the Penguins power play breakout. I know a drop pass is coming in the neutral zone. I don't know where the hell the puck is because I feel like the camera is sprinting laps back and forth on top of Mt. Washington.

Imagine being a casual viewer and trying to give hockey a chance with a primetime game on Saturday night. If people who love hockey are having trouble following the action I can't imagine what the casual observer had to go through. The problem for the league is that the casual viewer probably didn't go through with it. They more than likely changed the channel. The entire point of these Stadium Series games is to get more eyes on the product and the NHL's own television partner is doing their best to sabotage that very concept.

There was a good chance if you were following somebody's Periscope feed from the game you could follow that action better than if you were using NBC's feed on a 65 inch 4k television.

Stop with the "innovative" camera angles and just let people watch the game. Those camera angles you fell in love with are supplementary angles. They are cool for replays. They are not intended to be a primary angle. You made a sport that is already a difficult translation to television even worse.

Those were just the visual problems. NBC had some all too familiar audio issues as well

On a good day Pierre McGuire brings nothing to a broadcast. A best case scenario is that you don't learn anything and maybe he isn't as annoying as he usually is. Last night wasn't one of those good days. Pierre was as nauseating as the camera angles.

McGuire spent the majority of the broadcast beating viewers over the head with the obvious. He gave constant reminders that the game was outside. In what was his biggest insight of the game he revealed to the viewers that there might actually be *gasp* wind. We know Pierre. This is like the 1,000th outdoor game. It's outside, there's wind.

McGuire will usually fixate on something stupid during a game and not let it go. He will ask players and/or coaches about it and like clockwork those players and/or coaches will down play it.

Pierre: "This wind is having a huge impact on everything. It's at the Flyers back and just propelling them forward"

*Sidney Crosby goal*

Pierre to Mike Sullivan: "How about that wind?!"

Mike Sullivan: "Not a factor"

Of course it didn't end there. Pierre didn't get the answer he wanted so he will truck on until he does.

Pierre: "How much is the wind affecting the way the game's being played?"

Crosby: "Not much"

Funniest part about this is there's a split second where Crosby's face is 100% in "wtf is this guy asking me" mode. pic.twitter.com/amWPyrPloq

— Shane O'Donnell (@shane1342o) February 26, 2017

Sadly, Pierre was persistent.

Pierre: THE WIND IS A HUGE FACTOR OUT THERE TONIGHT

Wind: "I'm really not and quite frankly you're making me feel uncomfortable"

On a normal night you can just ignore his buffoonery, but on a night where you can't follow the game with your eyes the other senses start to pick up the slack.

It has been close to a decade since the first Winter Classic in Buffalo. I think that the outdoor games are a positive for the league. I think they are unique and provide an opportunity to market the sport to casual sports fans. I think the host cities continue to grow and expand on the impact they make to the local hockey communities. This is all good.

The presentation was horrendous.

Stop ruining the product, NBC. Act like this isn't the first time you've broadcasted one of these games. Last night was pathetic. Be better.

Follow @GunnerStaal

Thanks for reading!

Join the Discussion: » 94 Comments » Post New Comment

» My thoughts on Penguins thoughts

» It's their fault

» Still alive, for now

» Going to need some help now

» Penguins giveth Penguins taketh away