The best-of-seven series is scheduled to begin sometime in April. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin April 15, three days after the end of the regular season.

Emrick, who graduated from Southwood High School in 1961 and Manchester College in 1964, was born in LaFontaine.

Emrick, 62, has been the play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Devils since 1993. Since 2005-06, he has also covered the sport of ice hockey as the lead play-by-play announcer for “The NHL of NBC” and “The NHL on Versus (formerly “The NHL on OLN”).”

“We have agreements with both Versus for the next three Stanley Cup Finals and NBC for this year, the last year of its current agreement with the NHL,” Emrick told the Plain Dealer Wednesday.

“I am also down to do the Olympics for them (NBC) next year in Vancouver,” he added. It will be his fourth Winter Olympics (three for NBC and one for CBS). He also covered water polo at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

This year's Stanley Cup Playoffs will be Emrick's 21st straight.

The Emmy Award-winning broadcaster will be covering Sunday's game at Madison Square Garden between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, both teams he has previously worked for, for “The NHL on NBC” and the Flyers at Pittsburgh on March 22.

Ironically, Emrick got his first taste of the NHL covering a Penguins game as an unpaid correspondent for the Beaver County Times in Beaver Falls, Pa. He was teaching speech and broadcasting at Geneva College (1969-71) at the time.

His broadcasting career started in 1973 when he became the play-by-play announcer for the Port Huron Flags of the International Hockey League.

In 2004, Emrick won the NHL's Lester Patrick Award and last year he was voted into the Hall of Fame by virtue of winning the Foster Hewitt Award.

Emrick, who now lives in Michigan, has also worked for CBS, TNT, ESPN, Fox, CSTV, SportsChannel Philadelphia, Prism, Fox Sports Net and others.

So, what happens if his Devils make it to the Stanley Cup Finals?

“Since 1995, the NHL said the semifinals and finals go to the networks. There is no regional coverage,” Emrick said.

“I could still do a pregame and/or postgame show, but no play-by-play of the game for the Devils.”