Celebrating the national game
CBC commemorates a national tradition with its annual daylong Hockey Day in Canada celebration, and, for once, Hockey Night in Canada’s regularseason games can be seen in their proper context.
Hockey Day kicks off in a real community in one of Canada’s most history-steeped provinces: Summerside, P. E. I. HNIC stalwart Ron Maclean will lose the stuffy Toronto suit and Canadian Broadcasting Centre attitude, as he kicks off the day’s festivities from an outdoor rink — built for the occasion — in weather that forecasters predicted earlier in the week would be cloudy and wet, though not particularly cold.
A rare Saturday matinee will feature the Jets playing at the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the real reason to watch will be the two- hour pre- game, and the hour- long Celebrating the Game interval between the Winnipeg- Pittsburgh matinee and the evening games that see the Habs at the Leafs in the early night match and the Canucks at the Flames in the nightcap. ( CBC – 9 a. m.)