Ross Greenburg sounds reinvigorated.

That’s not to say that the prolific producer – the guy behind HBO’s HARD KNOCKS and 24/7, and the one who brought the NHL’s “Road To The Winter Classic” show over to EPIX last season – hasn’t enjoyed being in the trenches on his previous hockey projects.

It’s to say that ALL ACCESS: QUEST FOR THE STANLEY CUP, which premieres Friday, May 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime, is a different kind of NHL program – unprecedented, actually.

Remember how the “Road to the Winter Classic” shows would sometimes have to “manufacture” narratives? Remember how the on-ice action and chatter would sometimes eclipse the off-ice player stories? Remember how ‘these two teams are in the first third of their season are they’re going to play in an outdoor game’ wasn’t exactly high stakes?

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Greenburg says ALL ACCESS trims the fat and makes it clear that the stakes couldn’t be higher.

EPIX and Showtime both had a shot at running the show, but Showtime stepped up and the NHL and Greenburg decided to work with them for the first time. “They’re promoting the hell out of it and got behind it. And it’s working,” said Greenburg.

Consumers who do not subscribe to SHOWTIME will be able to sample the episode beginning Friday after 9:30 p.m. ET for free on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel, Facebook page and website, SHO.com. (Including Yahoo Sports.) An encore presentation of the premiere episode will air Friday at 12:00 a.m. ET on NHL Network in the U.S. and on Sportsnet in Canada, and will be available at NHL.com on Saturday, May 21 at 10 a.m. ET.

We spoke with Greenburg this week about the new show, how it’s different and what to expect.

Q. How is this one different from the last ones?

The stakes are higher. And the intensity seems to be coming through. When we come into locker rooms now, the coaches and the players have taken it up a notch. You can feel the pressure. This kind of access is pretty exciting, because as far as I know no one’s ever been this embedded during the playoffs in any sport. So it feels pretty special.

Q. We have to imagine this was a nice change of pace for you and the production team. In the regular season, you’re scratching and clawing for the narratives. Here, it’s all pretty laid out for you.

The narrative’s called the Stanley Cup, so that’s made it easy. [Laughs]

But yeah, you have players like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton that have lived their whole lives without getting it. You have others like Sidney Crosby and five other Pittsburgh Penguins who want it again.

But it’s all about the Cup. We come off the top of the show talking about the history of the Cup and why it’s important, and set the show in motion from there.

You’re right: When you do these kinds of reality shows, it’s always nice to feel fresh. It’s always nice to feel groundbreaking. It felt that way when we first did HARD KNOCKS and 24/7. It felt that way in 2010 with our first ROAD TO THE WINTER CLASSIC. And this feels like a new series.

When you watch the first episode, you can see that it’s different. You can feel that it’s different.

Q. So how is it different?

We’re concentrating a lot on the ice, because it’s about the Stanley Cup. We’re not spending a lot of time going home with players, although Matt Cullen did let us in to his home. That’s not as important in developing the stories of the players as it pertains to the Stanley Cup.

There’s no manufacturing different stories. Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop in Tampa Bay. Thornton and Marleau. And the city of St. Louis, which no one seems to be paying attention to.

Q. That’s a great point, that last one.

One of my favorite lines in the piece is about Western expansion, as it pertains to St. Louis, and how it has such a negative connotation now that the Rams left for Los Angeles. We have shots of the decrepit football stadium, with signs on the box offices saying ‘No More Tickets Sold Here.’

It’s an awakening. No one’s really put the dots together on the St. Louis story. They suffered a devastating loss. Everyone’s so excited about the Rams in LA that no one talks about the impact it had on St. Louis. And the Blues’ run helped bring some excitement back to the city. It makes you want to root for them.

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