The start of the NHL season was on par with last year.
The Rangers/Blackhawks NHL regular season game drew a 0.8 overnight rating on NBCSN Wednesday night, even with Flyers/Bruins last year and up a tick from Capitals/Blackhawks in 2013 (0.7). The 0.8 overnight is tied with last year as the highest ever for NHL regular season coverage on the network (previously VERSUS and OLN).
Chicago was the top market with a 4.7 rating, though that was dwarfed by the Cubs’ concurrent playoff game against the Pirates on TBS (21.8). New York ranked second (2.4), with Buffalo (2.0), Denver (0.95) and St. Louis (0.9) rounding out the top five.
The Sharks/Kings nightcap had a 0.3 overnight, down a tick from the same matchup last year (0.4). There was no comparable window in 2013. The Bay Area (1.3) and Los Angeles (1.0) were the top markets, followed by Chicago (0.8), Sacramento (0.7) and Buffalo (0.5).
