4 days ago
Minnesota TV alert cuts off Stanley Cup OT winner at worst possible moment
Minnesota TV alert cuts off Stanley Cup OT winner at worst possible moment originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was as good as it gets, with the Edmonton Oilers beating the defending champion Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime. There's no question that Minnesotans eyes were glued to TV screens when Connor McDavid found Leon Draisaitl for the winning goal at exactly 10:44 p.m. CT.
Just one problem: Game 1 was played on the first Wednesday of an even month, and 10:44 p.m. is when Minnesota runs emergency alert tests on television.
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At the precise moment that McDavid delivered the pass to Draisaitl, the game was interrupted by the distinctive, screeching tone and the full-screen emergency alert screen. Watch:
The test interrupted the live feed from the game with 32.4 seconds left in overtime, and Draisaitl's shot found the back of the net with about 31.9 seconds remaining.
A half-second later would've allowed Minnesotans to see the goal.
It was like a cross-check to the kidneys for the State of Hockey, which despite eight consecutive first-round playoff exits by the Minnesota Wild, is always plugged into the Stanley Cup Final while dreaming of what it would be like to watch Kirill Kaprizov score an overtime winner in a championship series game.
For Minnesotans who didn't get to see the full game-winner, here you go. It was beautiful.
Just so you're aware next time, Minnesota conducts emergency alerts on television as part of the Emergency Alert System. The statewide EAS test is deployed on the first Wednesday of each month. Outdoor sirens typically sound at 1 p.m., but the television tests occur at 1:44 p.m. in odd months and 10:44 p.m. in even months.
Note: The test doesn't air on streaming services, so Minnesotans who watched the game on YouTube TV or other streaming platforms didn't experience the interruption.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
