Williams: NHL loves its fans like no other

Customer service, thy name is not National Hockey League.

NBC is scheduled to televise a Stanley Cup Playoff game Saturday at 3 p.m. Forty-eight hours before the puck drop, fans who have spent hundreds of dollars for tickets for the Washington Capitals-New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings-Tampa Bay Lightning games don’t know what time their game will begin.

How does a league desiring an expanded fan base get away with treating their best customers so shabbily?

Season ticket-holders have little say. Refunds aren’t an option. It’s the price you pay for access to every game. (Pretty sure Cleveland Cavaliers season ticket-holders are OK with this arrangement this spring.)

NBC has another telecast at 3 p.m. on Sunday. It might be the sixth game of the Pittsburgh Penguins-New York Rangers series (if there is a sixth game). It might be the sixth game the Montreal Canadiens-Ottawa Senators series (if there is a sixth game). It might be the sixth game of the St. Louis Blues-Minnesota Wild series (there will be a sixth game).

How hard would it be to announce that the Rangers-Pens game at CONSOL Energy Center will be the Sunday afternoon game unless the Rangers end the series tonight?

NHL response so far: what’s the rush?

PENS-RANGERS

Last week as a guest on WBBW-AM 1240’s “Behind the Glass” hockey program, Larry Snyder asked me to make a prediction for the Pens-Rangers series.

With little hesitation, I said Rangers in five. Even though my prediction might come true tonight, I’m shocked at how close the first four games have been.

The way the Pens stumbled down the stretch and the Rangers rested up after finishing as the NHL’s regular-season champion, this series looked like a terrible mismatch.

The Pens have proven to be better defensively than advertised. Their three losses were by 2-1 scores, with Wednesday’s Game 4 ending in overtime. The Pens have been competitive — didn’t see this coming after an up-and-down season.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continue to struggle to lead the offense. Malkin hasn’t scored a goal since March 6. Crosby’s two goals in Game 2 were his first in the postseason since May 2013.

Still, the series has been better than advertised — maybe it won’t end with handshakes tonight.

STEELERS-Patriots

Maybe Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell’s three-game suspension won’t hurt as much. Bell most likely will be suspended for the opener against the Patriots in New England. His absence probably won’t be the reason why the home team wins.

Since Bill Belichick became the Patriots head coach in 2000, Gillette Stadium has been the Steelers’ Temple of Doom. Their only win there was in 2008 when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was out with a knee injury.

Remember deflate-gate? Wonder if NFL investigators do. A Steelers fan’s top fantasy this spring might be playing the defending champion when the head coach and four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback are absent because of misdeeds.

I said fantasy.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.