With a potent lead-in from The Belmont Stakes, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final hit multiple multi-year highs.
Game 2 of the Rangers/Kings Stanley Cup Final earned a 3.7 rating and 6.4 million viewers on NBC, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — up 85% in ratings and 60% in viewership from Bruins/Blackhawks on NBCSN last year (2.0, 4.0M) and up 118% and 121%, respectively, from Kings/Devils on NBC in 2012 (1.7, 2.9M).
Rangers/Kings Game 2 earned the largest audience on record for a Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final (dates back to 1994). The previous mark was 5.9 million for Flyers/Blackhawks on Memorial Day in 2010. The 3.7 rating is also the highest for a Game 2 since at least 1975.
Moreover, Game 2 ranks as the highest rated and most-viewed Stanley Cup Final game on a Saturday night since Devils/Avalanche Game 7 in 2001 (4.2, 6.9M).
Despite the massive lead-in from The Belmont Stakes (12.0, 20.6M), Rangers/Kings did not do that much better than Bruins/Blackhawks last year. NBC earned audiences of 6.4M (Game 1), 6.5M (Game 4), 5.6M (Game 5) and 8.2M (Game 6) for last year’s series. It is fair to wonder what the numbers would have looked like had the Blackhawks, Bruins or Penguins — each of which moves the needle more than the Rangers and Kings — advanced to the final.
Locally, Game 2 drew a 10.5 rating in New York and an 8.9 in Los Angeles. The New York rating was the market’s best ever for an NHL game on NBC or NBCSN. Despite the record number, the game trailed the preceding Belmont Stakes by a third (15.8).
(Sat. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box)
