NHL 2011-12: Boston Bruins Announce National TV Schedule

The NHL and the Boston Bruins have announced the national television schedule for the upcoming 2011-12 season, and the Bruins will play the most nationally televised games of any team on NBC and Versus this season, according to CSNNE.

The Bruins open up the season at the TD Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers, and will unveil their 2011 Stanley Cup banner before the game. The opener will be broadcast nationally on Versus.

Here are the Versus games according to CSNNE, including the ones which are non-exclusive, meaning local Bruins TV network NESN will broadcast the game too:

October 6 vs. Philadelphia, 7:00 PM
October 12 at Carolina, 7:30 PM
November 7 vs. New York Islanders, 7:00 PM (non-exclusive)
November 21 at Montreal, 7:30 PM (non-exclusive)
January 4 at New Jersey, 7:30 PM
February 5 at Washington, 12:30 PM
February 8 at Buffalo, 7:30 PM
February 15 at Montreal, 7:30 PM
March 4 at New York Rangers, 3:00 PM
March 11 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 PM
March 27 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:30 PM (non-exclusive)
April 1 at New York Rangers, 3:00 PM
April 3 vs. Pittsburgh, 7:30 PM (non-exclusive)
April 7 vs. Buffalo, 3:00 PM

The Bruins will be on NBC three times this season, home to Detroit, at Philadelphia and home to Minnesota. They also have four "flex" games that NBC can choose to broadcast, and those are all in March and April.

Here are the NBC games for the Bruins, found at CSNNE.com:

November 25 vs. Detroit, 1:00 PM
January 22 at Philadelphia, 3:00 PM
February 19 at Minnesota, 3:00 PM

These are the NBC "flex" games according to NHL.com:

March 4 at New York Rangers, 3:00 PM
March 11 at Pittsburgh, 7:30 PM
April 1 at New York Rangers, 3:00 PM
April 7 vs. Buffalo, 3:00 PM

It's nice that the Bruins are getting their rightful share of national exposure after their first Stanley Cup championship in 39 years.

The Bruins showcase the game of hockey better than any team in the league, and their big, bad, and high-scoring performances are very exciting.

With the possibility of no NBA season this winter due to the league's lockout situation, the Bruins could take over Boston in the winter and own the Garden.

Hockey is not far away, and whether you live in Boston or far away from New England, there will be plenty of opportunities to watch the defending Stanley Cup champs.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report, and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on Twitter.