Stanley Cup Playoffs: Devils/Rangers Still Trailing Last Year’s Bruins/Lightning Series

For the fourth time in five games on NBCSN, the Devils/Rangers series suffered a decline from last year.

Game 5 of the Devils/Rangers NHL Eastern Conference final drew 1.428 million viewers on NBC Sports Network Wednesday night, down 6% from Lightning/Bruins Game 5 on a Monday night last year (1.516M), and down 11% from Canadiens/Flyers Game 5 in 2010 (1.595M).

Wednesday’s game ranks as the most-viewed of the series on cable (Game 3 aired on the NBC broadcast network). All four games on NBCSN have suffered declines from last year.

Locally, Game 5 drew a 6.47 rating in New York, the highest rating ever for an NHL game on NBCSN in the market.

(Wednesday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers; local numbers from Puck the Media)