The NHL playoffs begin tonight. Nothing like getting the second season started while the calendar still says April.

Thanks to the NHL’s TV deal with NBC, the first round of the playoffs now might represent the best week or two of hockey for the season.

For the second straight year, every game will air on national TV on one of these outlets: NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC, and NHL Network.

That’s every game, something that might not have happened if the NHL opted for ESPN. The multi-channel coverage created a great dynamic during the first round last year. Hockey fans worked out their remotes watching one dramatic finish after another. While the games get bigger during subsequent rounds, nothing matches the volume of the first round.

The end result produced an increase in ratings for the early rounds of the playoffs.

NBC and the NHL hope the numbers improve even more this year as more people catch on to the concept. There will be three games on tonight, and there are several days with four games.

I asked Sam Flood, NBC’s executive producer, about the set-up yesterday during a conference call:

The idea was to super-serve the hockey fan. That’s our Number 1 priority. The league wanted to make sure that their games were available to everyone. And that’s what we’ve partnered up to do with the NHL.

Gary Bettman and his team have been fabulous to work with making sure the schedule works. And unlike the NBA or baseball, this is a league that’s going to deal with two countries and make sure that they keep their partners at CVC, TSN, RDS and NBC happy.

And I can’t say how well the league was working through the schedule planning to make sure they’ve got good games on every night, to make sure the hockey fan has what they want. Which is hockey seven nights a week, and the match ups and times where they can consume them as often as possible.

Let the feast begin. Here’s the menu through May 8:

Here’s the official rundown from NBC:

Every first-round playoff game will be televised on a national platform.

In order to televise as many as four games on a given day/night, the NBC Sports Group will utilize NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network to carry Conference Quarterfinal games.

NBC Sports Network will be the primary home of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, offering coverage of one or two games virtually every night of the first round. NBC will present exclusive afternoon coverage during the weekend of May 4-5.

CNBC and NHL Network will also provide live coverage in primetime. Games airing on NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network will be subject to local blackouts in the first round.

See below for a complete Conference Quarterfinal schedule.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

NBC Sports Group’s Stanley Cup Playoff exclusivity originates with the Conference Semifinal round. Beginning in the second round and continuing through the Stanley Cup Final, all games will air exclusively on NBC, NBC Sports Network, or CNBC.

NBC Sports Network will serve as the primary home for Conference Semifinal coverage, offering one or two games virtually every night of the second round. When necessary, CNBC will provide live coverage in primetime, although more infrequently than in the first round. NBC will present exclusive afternoon coverage during the weekend of May 18-19, plus a primetime game on Saturday, May 25.

CONFERENCE FINALS

NBC and the NBC Sports Network will team to provide exclusive coverage of the Conference Finals. NBC will broadcast Saturday games on June 1 and June 8. The remaining games from both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals will be televised exclusively on NBC Sports Network.

STANLEY CUP FINAL

For the eighth consecutive year, NBC and NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) will provide exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final. NBC will broadcast Game 1, Game 4, and Games 5-7 (if necessary), with NBC Sports Network televising Games 2-3. Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, analyst Eddie Olczyk and ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will call the Stanley Cup Final.