Cup runneth over: NHL starts playoffs with most-watched opening weekend

Buffalo Sabres players celebrate a goal by defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (23) during the third period in Game 1 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Coming off of a strong regular season, the NHL opened its postseason at an even hotter pace.

The opening weekend of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.53 million viewers across ESPN and TNT Sports (seven telecasts), up 81% from last year (five telecasts) and the highest average on record.

Note that Nielsen did not begin including out-of-home viewing in its estimates until 2020, only began doing so in 100 percent of markets a year ago, and is mere months into a new methodology that combines its traditional panel with “Big Data” from smart TVs and set-top boxes. Those changes will give this year a leg up in any historical comparisons, but they would not come close to explaining a year-over-year increase of such size.

The opening weekend slate included the three most-watched opening round games ever on cable, excluding Game 7s. Penguins-Flyers Game 1 led the way with a 0.9 rating and 2.15 million viewers in primetime, up 119% from last year’s equivalent Avalanche-Stars window on TNT (981K).

Wild-Stars led-in with a 0.8 and 1.94 million, up 140% from Blues-Jets on TNT last year (810K). On Sunday, Bruins-Sabres drew a 0.8 and 1.71 million — up 116% from last year, albeit an all-Canadian Senators-Maple Leafs game that aired on ESPN2 (794K).

(The all-time high for a first round game on cable, including Game 7s, is 3.10 million for Panthers-Bruins Game 7 on TNT Sports in 2023.)

Bookending the ESPN opening weekend slate, Senators-Hurricanes drew a 0.55 and 1.28 million on Saturday afternoon and Mammoth-Golden Knights a 0.52 and 1.00 million Sunday night. The latter was up 27% from last year, when the network carried Wild-Golden Knights immediately following “Sunday Night Baseball” (735K).

The full five-game ESPN slate averaged 1.6 million, up 141% from the network’s three-game slate last year.

Over on TNT Sports, Sunday’s Canadiens-Lightning Game 1 averaged 1.4 million in a window that overlapped with Bruins-Sabres on ESPN. Kings-Avalanche led in with 1.3 million, up nearly 50% from Devils-Hurricanes on ESPN a year ago (880K). Those two games rank as the most-watched first round openers on TNT Sports.

Keep in mind that the NHL is the last of the four major sports that allows regional sports networks to carry coverage of opening round playoff games, meaning that each of the games had additional viewers not included in the national average.

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Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. You can contact him here or on the social media websites X (Twitter) or Bluesky.

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Comments 11

Kam The Man says:

4 months ago

I live in Canada and I am so happy that the USA won the gold medal in the Olympics ! What kind of rivalry is it when one team wins all the time (Canada). Hockey will benefit SO MUCH from a good USA – Canada rivalry. When I look at the USA players playing now … it’s crazy how much progress the USA has made in the past 20 years.

The USA now has 50% of the best defensemen in the NHL And about 75% of the best goalies in the world

Can’t wait for the first “African American” Wayne Gretzky !!! Then you will see 5 million viewers in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs

So a Philadelphia vs. either Dallas
Kam the Man says:

4 months ago

Which ever way you look at it: looks like America’s Cup (Stanley Cup) is staying in America !
4th&long says:

5 months ago

Good 2026 for NHL. Like you said it may be Olympic bump and some Nielsen changes but good reg season, up noticeably and same with playoffs. Big city like Phil helping rnd 1 and looks like going to rnd 2.
Rick James Bible Owner says:

5 months ago

As long as Turner sends crews to Canada in these earlier rounds (which should be easier to do this year than in the past)……*tilts windmill*
ESL says:

5 months ago

Very good numbers to start the playoffs. As I noted in another post, the US networks are rooting hard for the winners of Bruins-Sabres and Flyers-Penguins to make a deep run to the finals. The finals have featured a team from Florida the last 6 seasons and that has put a damper on the ratings. This year they dont need TB going. And the NHL needs Chicago to get back to being a contender in the West. The conference is filled with many non-descript teams. Imagine a finals between Carolina and Las Vegas? It could happen. Looking back, it is remarkable how lucky NBC was with the Stanley Cup finals matchups. From 2009-2019, every finals except one featured the 6 US teams that drive the ratings. Penguins, Bruins, Red Wings, Black Hawks, Rangers and Flyers. In 11 years, only 1 Stanley Cup final did not feature at least 1 of those teams. And they had many years featuring both. ESPN and Turner have not been that lucky. They have to be rooting for any of Penguins, Flyers, Bruins and maybe Sabres to get to the finals. The rest of the teams in the playoffs will not bring good ratings to the finals..
- ds says:
  
  4 months ago
  
  Very good point about the likely importance of US-viewer-friendly team progression. I have not seen Canadian data, but Leafs missing the playoffs is a blow (e.g., HNIC reportedly had no Canadian team to show in prime-time on a first round playoff weekend)
  
  In contrast to 2025, the US might drive the lion’s share of North America NHL playoff viewers in 2026. And, even Canadian neutrals may be more interested in teams you mention – Bruins, Sabres, Flyers, etc. – then in teams from Florida, Texas, etc.
  - ESL says:
    
    4 months ago
    
    Yes. I think having a team like Bruins, Sabres, or Flyers would be beneficial for either the US audience or Canadian audience. Unfortunately, the Penguins will be eliminated soon. However, I am not sure what team from the West conference would be the best for viewership? Teams like the Kings and Stars would not be a draw. Maybe Colorado? They have some star power. And, maybe Minnesota? That’s about it. I am thinking best matchup would be Colorado-Boston. But, the networks would take Philadelphia, or Buffalo in the East. Worst case scenario would be Carolina-Dallas.
Fred W says:

5 months ago

Probably why they’ll never go back to 1 v 8. The East is guaranteed to have at least two interesting 1st rd series with the current format. More recently, the Central division with the Avs, Stars, and Wild is typically competitive, as well.
Brian says:

5 months ago

I’d love to see Buffalo and Utah in the Final.
Richard W says:

5 months ago

Pretty impressive stats considering not one or even any of these games have aired on ABC yet and won’t for at least two more weekends due to other commitments they have, but would like to see a few extra games on ABC to offset the many games that are appearing on cable TV but at least it’s a solid start for the NHL playoffs though.
- Michelle Gyalog says:
  
  5 months ago
  
  By time the Mickey Mouse Network gets around to airing even 1 game most of country would move on to Outdoor activities with improving Temperatures(Weather)!!!