'Frozen Frenzy' coverage on ESPN networks has players excited, curious

Hockey fans aren't the only ones excited for "Frozen Frenzy" on Tuesday. NHL players are as well.

On Tuesday, all 32 NHL teams will be in action with 16 games having staggered starting times. In addition to a tripleheader on ESPN, the network will have whip-around coverage from 7-8 p.m. on ESPN+, and then continue on ESPN2 at 8 p.m..

"Wow, I like how they're trying something new and seeing how it goes," St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. "Power plays, end of a couple minutes of a tight game, goals, fights, saves, just all of that action. 

"This will be fun. I think it's a great idea. A one-stop shop, all the action. It's what the people want to see, right?"

It starts at 6 p.m. ET with the Washington Capitals hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs on ESPN, the first game of the tripleheader. Beginning at 6:30, when the Anaheim Ducks play at the Columbus Blue Jackets, 11 games will be played, all starting 15 minutes apart, the last of that stretch the Vancouver Canucks visiting the Nashville Predators at 9:15 p.m. ET.

"I think it's awesome," Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said. "The fact that we're all playing on that day gives the fans the opportunity to see every game and the growth of the game. I just think it'll be a special night. If I was a fan, I'd love that night."

The last three games of the night will see the New York Rangers at the Calgary Flames (9:45 p.m. ET), the Arizona Coyotes at the Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET) and the ESPN tripleheader concluding with the Vegas Golden Knights hosting the Philadelphia Flyers (11 p.m. ET). The middle game will have Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Boston Bruins (8:30 p.m.).

John Buccigross and Kevin Weekes will host "Frozen Frenzy." Bedard is hoping for a chance to watch some of the coverage.

"It's great you can flip through all those games, never a dull moment," Bedard said. "So it's great, I think, as a fan, and you get really excited for that. If we can watch the games, we definitely will."

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is interested to see how ESPN handles the unpredictable nature of the game.

"That could be fun to watch, for sure," he said. "It's kind of hard because hockey's pretty sporadic. It's tough to switch to a channel when there's o-zone pressure because it could be gone really quickly, but it's cool."

Ryan Reaves of the Toronto Maple Leafs said the "Frozen Frenzy" model is exactly what he uses to keep up with his fantasy football team and is looking forward to seeing it in action.

"I'd like to see how this works," Reaves said. "I don't exactly know because how is it going to work, bounce around every time somebody is in the offensive zone? It'll be interesting to see how they pull it off. It could be cool. I'll definitely try and check that out."

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is wondering how ESPN pulls it off.

"It's a good idea," he said. "You don't see it too often. I think it'll be cool to see how it works, whether it's based on the last minute of a game, power plays, things like that. I'm curious to see how it goes."

Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev said if he gets a chance to watch, he will. He'd like to see the hits, shots and saves, but that's about it.

"I try not to watch too much of goal-scoring," Georgiev said. "I try to keep clear image of saves in my head."

Whatever the highlights, Guentzel said the epic Tuesday is another example of why the NHL and ESPN are a great partnership.

"I think it's grown the game a substantial amount," he said. "ESPN is such a high level for television. Just the people they have on there talking about the game, I think it's been great for the League and for us players. We love having it on ESPN just because it grows the game."

As for if he'll be watching Tuesday?

"Oh yeah," Guentzel said. "I always like to throw on the games when I get home, just to kind of wind down a little bit. I'll be watching, for sure."

NHL.com independent correspondents Dave McCarthy, Wes Crosby, Ryan Boulding, Craig Merz, Bruce Miles and Lou Korac contributed to this report