NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The NHL, ESPN and ABC on Wednesday released the league's 2002-03 television schedule, which will feature more coverage after the All-Star break, split national games on Thursday nights and a new Sunday afternoon franchise.

From the All-Star break through the end of the season, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will average four games per week in an effort to provide fans more meaningful telecasts with playoff implications than ever before.

ESPN will televise 62 percent of its games -- 13 of 21 dates -- as the playoff race heats up.

"We really ramp up when the games count," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN's senior vice president of programming.

For the first time, 10 of ESPN's 14 Thursday primetime windows, all at 8 p.m. ET, will include two games split nationally throughout the country. Many of the talented, emerging teams will have a greater platform.

ESPN also will present four consecutive, exclusive Sunday afternoon contests in February and March at 3 p.m, and ESPN2 immediately will follow three of them with a 6 p.m. game.

With NBA, college basketball and football, and NHL games sprinkled throughout the week, ESPN has created an "unprecedented combination" that "increases the strength of each individual sport," Shapiro said.

"It should make for a pretty powerful lineup for ESPN," he added.

In addition to 21 NHL dates on ESPN, there will be 50 on ESPN2 and five Saturday telecasts on ABC, which also will broadcast the All-Star Game. ESPN2's "NHL 2Night," the network's highlight and news program since 1996, will air Wednesday through Sunday.

"Our commitment to the NHL remains strong and I believe is still unprecedented," Shapiro said.

ESPN's NHL broadcast schedule gets under way opening night with the Dallas Stars against Colorado Avalanche, and New York Rangers taking on the Carolina Hurricanes.