FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2016, photo, National Women's Hockey League All-Star players take time for a photo before an All-Star game at Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The National Women's Hockey League semifinals and final will air on NBC Sports Network in early February 2021. It will be the first time professional women's hockey games are shown live on a major television network in the U.S. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert, File)Women’s professional hockey will be televised live in the U.S. by a major cable network for the first time when NBC Sports Network airs the National Women’s Hockey League semifinals and final in early February. “As the home of hockey in the U.S., NBC Sports is proud to showcase the NWHL to a national audience,” NBC Sports vice president of programming Michael Perman said. The NWHL fell short of completing its season last spring because of the pandemic.

The NHL could go with a temporary realignment of its teams for next season during the COVID-19 pandemic. The league also is contemplating a reduced schedule and temporary hubs. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said realignment could help with ongoing travel restrictions for Canada and mandated quarantines for visiting certain states in the United States. But details are still being worked out in talks between the league and NHL Players’ Association. The NHL finished last season in bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, but Bettman has ruled out using bubbles for an entire schedule.