Hockey Night In Canada viewers lament lack of scorebug during Saturday’s broadcast

Saturday night’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning was broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada. And for a large portion of the first period, those who tuned into the game watched in an old-school way — whether they wanted to or not.

For a portion of the first period, there was no scorebug or clock shown on the television. Viewers noted that this was not a short-term glitch, either, commenting that the screen had no score or clock for more than half of the opening period.

https://twitter.com/HabsOnReddit/status/1764090850017968623

Yeah I was thinking the same. Literally more than half the period without a clock.

— RV (@forestcityRV) March 3, 2024

This was a source of frustration for viewers.

@hockeynight Great telecast tonight. https://t.co/SRpitsTKKc

— Rich Thorpe (@exit716) March 3, 2024

They are awful.

Camera misses half the face-offs, showing bench or crowd.

When there’s a scrum, it takes them forever to pan the cameras to the action.

Why not keep camera on Xhekaj/Cernak after the whistle when they were both out of the box?

— Allen Pro-Democracy (@teamblue1964) March 3, 2024

Hockey Night in Canada, which is produced by Sportsnet and airs on CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has long been a Saturday night staple in Canada.

While they haven’t always been a staple, constantly displayed scorebugs and clocks have been a fixture of sports on television for three decades now. The scorebug can certainly be more helpful in a high-scoring sport like basketball. Conversely, though, each score is more significant in hockey.

The first period of Saturday’s game was also a busy one. Joel Armia got the Canadiens on the board with a goal less than two minutes into the game. Later in the period, Montreal went up 2-0 on a goal from Jake Evans.

[Twitter user HabsOnReddit, Photo Credit: CBC/Sportsnet]