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The NHL is considering changes to its digitally enhanced dasherboards (DED) after fan criticisms during their debut season.

DED technology allows for the digital replacement of camera-visible arena ads on local, national and international broadcasts. The digital boards allow broadcasts to constantly change which advertisers appear. Ads are sold like commercials, with brands buying 30-second increments, based on the game clock.

The digital ads faced criticism from fans during the first year for everything from technical glitches to disruptive artificiality to the way some moving advertisements detracted from ongoing play.

While the NHL is contemplating some of those critiques, the league said it believes most viewers have grown comfortable with the digital ad boards. The NHL said it has heard feedback that the technology actually makes hockey easier to watch on television.

“It was certainly the vocal minority. There’s plenty of folks that think it’s a much better viewing experience to watch the game,” said Keith Wachtel, the NHL’s chief business officer and executive vice president of global partnerships.

“The overwhelming sentiment was that the cleanliness of the boards is less jarring for the viewership. That it blends in more. Other than when [the ads] might change where people notice it, the prevailing thought is that they’re kind of in the background,” he said.

Wachtel confirmed that the NHL made two changes to the technology during the 2022-23 season: tweaking the brightness of the ads and applying some motion-blurring to them so they would better blend in during play.

He said the system uses artificial intelligence rendering to improve the look of the ads from game to game.

“We were able to do some things that we thought would enhance the viewing of the game. We still think that the viewing of the broadcast with DED is significantly better than the old static [ads] way,” Wachtel said. “We continue to tweak it so that we make sure the viewing experience is as optimal as we can make it.”

One of those tweaks might involve ads that include moving elements, which some fans found disorienting.

“Yes, there is the occasional funny meme of the car going one way and the player skating another way. Very infrequent, when you look at the totality of how many ads are running. We limit [the movement] to a few seconds,” Wachtel said. “What we are doing, though, is continuing to look at what the motion is. At this point, we’re not making any big changes, but we are looking at ways to perhaps tweak it — to look at where and how these ads appear versus where the players and the puck might be at that moment on the ice.”

The NHL is less concerned with fans who claim that the digital boards “swallow up” the puck.

“The puck getting lost really doesn’t happen. I mean, you’re talking about 2,000-plus [feeds] and there can always be an issue with any technology, but that was really infrequent,” Wachtel said. “I would venture to say that those that had trouble following the puck have trouble following the puck to begin with.”

Overall, he believes fans will continue to feel more comfortable with the technology.

“I just think it needs a little bit more time. We have a full year under our belt. I think the experience will continue to get better and better,” Wachtel said. “Some of those fans that might not like [the DED] as much will start gravitating towards it because they’re going to start to see some really cool things throughout the broadcast that will enhance the viewing experience even more than what we think we currently have.”

While overlaying other advertisements on the boards will be its primary function, the DED system eventually will allow broadcasts to use the boards for other special effects.

There are innovations planned for the 2023-24 season. On national broadcasts, the DEDs will be emblazoned with a graphic that promotes the teams you’re about to watch. “It makes the game feel bigger,” Wachtel said.

Coming out of breaks, the boards will be used for more targeted promotion of upcoming games coupled with an announcer voiceover. The boards will also come to life when the game goes to overtime or a shootout.

Down the line, the hope is to use the boards to announce who’s participating in the shootout — remember that advertising inventory for overtime and the shootout isn’t always sold.

“We’ll use those boards as creative elements for those important times of the game,” Wachtel said.

In the near future, the boards will light up at the end of the game in celebration of the winning team. The NHL also expects to eventually use the boards to convey real-time statistical information.

One innovation the NHL already tested at last year’s All-Star Game was using the boards to enhance goal celebrations. The challenge now is the way the game is shot for television. What usually happens after a goal is scored is that the camera cuts directly to the player celebrating, which means the shot will have the ads featured in the arena rather than their digital replacements.

“We would need to work with the broadcaster to hold on that main game camera for a little bit longer,” Wachtel said. “The problem with that is you miss some great enthusiasm and excitement and celebrations, which are really important for our game.”

One of the biggest innovations this season for the DED initiative is having a world feed for every game. On Saturdays and other “game of the week” nights, the NHL is creating four different international feeds where digital ads can be sold: The world feed, a Czech and Slovak feed, a Nordic feed and Commonwealth of Independent States feed.

That additional ad space will build on what Wachtel called an “unbelievably successful first year” from a financial perspective.

SponsorUnited, which tracks sports sponsorship data, reported in June the NHL experienced a 21% increase in sponsorship revenue year-over-year and that 700 brands were involved with the DED.

Wachtel said that, in total, 12,000 pieces of creative were built in the NHL’s hub for the digital boards. SponsorUnited found that the NHL had “eclipsed all other leagues with close to 90%” of all virtual signage assets in televised sports.

The league uses MVP Index to track the amount of time the ads are displayed during games and during highlights distributed on social media.

“All in all, it was very successful Year 1, for which we’re making some small, but we think exciting, changes for Year 2,” Wachtel said.

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Devils’ Nemec, scratched in G1, plays 2OT hero

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Devils' Nemec, scratched in G1, plays 2OT hero

NEWARK, N.J. — Simon Nemec hasn’t had an ideal start to his NHL career. But in Game 3 of the New Jersey Devils‘ Stanley Cup playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, he finally had his career highlight.

The 21-year-old defenseman scored an unassisted goal at 2:36 of double overtime on Friday night to give the Devils a 3-2 win and new life, cutting the Hurricanes’ series lead to 2-1.

In the process, Nemec, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, had the most impactful moment of his pro career with his first playoff goal.

“I was so happy,” he said. “Amazing feeling. It’s been a tough season for me, and that’s a really big win for us.”

A native of Slovakia, Nemec spent his first season after the draft in the American Hockey League. He split time between the AHL and the Devils in Year 2, thrust into action because of injuries to the New Jersey defense. He split time between the NHL and the minors again this season. Nemec has played 87 games in the NHL, with five goals and 18 assists while skating to a minus-17.

He was a frequent healthy scratch in New Jersey, including Game 1 on Sunday, and his lackluster play caused many to wonder if Nemec would live up to his lofty draft position. Nemec was last on the Devils in goals above replacement at minus-8.7, according to Evolving Hockey.

Thanks to injuries to defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, Nemec was called upon in Game 2 against Carolina and was back in the lineup for Game 3, in which the Devils lost defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to injury after just 10 shifts. That injury, plus the multiple overtimes, meant massive increases in ice time for veterans such as Brian Dumoulin (36:29) and Brett Pesce (32:25), as well as more responsibility for Nemec.

“You just need guys to step up at the right times,” Dumoulin said. “He knew he was going to be going out there, we’re going to be relying on him, and we needed him. You could see that he took that moment. He wasn’t scared of it, and he took the reins of it.”

Nemec said the overtime goal, which beat Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen (34 saves), was the kind of boost he needs in his career.

“Yeah, it helps me a lot,” he said. “I feel like my confidence is back the last couple games. I’m just trying to play my game and do this stuff. I have to play offense a little bit, too, so my confidence is higher, and I just feel good about myself.”

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe admitted that he dreamed about defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Feb. 4 and played 27:09, being the Game 3 hero.

“But if I was really thinking, I would have said, ‘Wouldn’t this be something if the young guy who just stepped up so big for us here, if he ended the game?'” Keefe said.

The message the coach gave his team in the overtime intermissions was one of aggressiveness. That apparently wasn’t lost on Nemec.

“We’ve got to go win this hockey game. We don’t want to sit back, we don’t want this game to go on forever,” Keefe said. “Credit Nemo with doing that. To have the mindset to do it, not just sitting back and conserving energy. He was on the front foot. You love to see it and love to see him get rewarded.”

Game 4 of the series will be Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.

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Follow live: Kings look to take 3-0 series lead vs. Oilers

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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