I’m a fairly avid Blackhawks fan. I watch most of their games. But otherwise, I’d consider myself to be a casual hockey fan.

So the new playoff TV format is geared to snaring fans like me, the casual hockey fan. And it has worked, big time.

Airing all the games on NBC, CNBC, and the NHL Network is exactly what hockey needed. Opening night had an NCAA Basketball tournament feel to it. I watched the end of the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia overtime game on the NBC Sports Network and then quickly turned to the exciting climax of the Detroit-Nashville game on CNBC. Then I even went back to NBCSN to watch the beginning of the Los Angeles-Vancouver game. I haven’t watched that much hockey in one night for a long time, and I continued to do it throughout the weekend.

Funny thing: At one point, my 16-year old Matt cried out, “Dad, what channel is CNBC on?” He wasn’t looking to watch James Cramer.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told SI’s Richard Deitsch:

“This has been the partnership we envisioned and we could not be more pleased  with how they have worked with us.

Yes, indeed. The ratings were strong for the opening two nights. I’ll have an update from the weekend later.