Tuesday wasn’t exactly a banner day for ESPN’s NHL coverage.
First, John Buccigross caused a stir by accidentally leaking what many thought to be the actual NHL Draft Lottery results. Then, the network abruptly cut away from a critical moment in the Rangers-Hurricanes playoff game. Finally, adding insult to injury, Steve Levy cast an announcer’s jinx on the Dallas Stars from the studio.
Though, that last one might only sting if you’re a Stars fan looking to place blame on someone.
After the first overtime between New York and Carolina, the ESPN NHL Studio Show discussed the other hockey game on Tuesday, which was being shown on ESPN2. This was the same game that the Worldwide Leader accidentally switched to for a mere 15 seconds in the final minute of the Rangers-Hurricanes game.
Steve Levy made quite the announcer jinx as the Stars held a commanding 3-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche with just under 19 minutes to play in the second period of Game 1. It wasn’t a mistake per se, but when there’s a lot of time left in a playoff game – especially in the NHL — you probably don’t want to make any declarations.
And we can imagine that this is one Levy likely would like to have back.
Down by three goals, Colorado clawed its way back into the game. Just minutes after Levy’s jinx, Valeri Nichushkin put the Avs on the board. Cale Makar then added another goal, pulling Colorado within one. From there, the momentum completely shifted.
Now, we won’t place the blame squarely on Levy’s shoulders. But after Tuesday’s game went into overtime, it’s a safe bet the longtime ESPN host won’t make any surefire declarations anytime soon.
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About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.