After a middling start, the Rangers/Capitals series hit a near playoff-high on Sunday.
Game 6 of the Rangers/Capitals Stanley Cup playoff series drew 1.9 million viewers on NBCSN Sunday night, up 9% from Penguins/Rangers last year (1.8M) and up 130% from Kings/Sharks in a later timeslot in 2013 (846K).
The Rangers’ series-tying win earned the second-largest audience of the playoffs on cable, trailing only Wild/Blackhawks Game 2. No previous game of the series, including Game 2 on the NBC broadcast network, had managed to hit even 1.4 million viewers.
Overall, Sunday’s game drew the seventh-largest audience for a second round playoff game on an NBC cable network, and the third-largest when series-clinching games are excluded. Locally, it was the highest rated second round game ever on NBCSN in the New York market (6.4).
In other weekend action, Game 5 of Flames/Ducks drew 831,000 viewers — down 52% from Wild/Blackhawks on CNBC last year (1.7M). No game of the series managed to reach 900,000 viewers. Lightning/Canadiens Game 5 drew 1.0 million viewers on Saturday night, down 38% from Bruins/Canadiens last year (1.6M) and down 46% from Rangers/Bruins in an earlier timeslot in 2013 (1.9M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], local numbers via NBC Sports Group Press Box)
