NBCSN earned its top audience of the playoffs for Red Wings/Lightning Game 7, but could not match last year.
Game 7 of the Red Wings/Lightning NHL playoff series drew 978,000 viewers on NBCSN Wednesday night, down 13% from Flyers/Rangers Game 7 last year (1.1M), but the top audience of the first round on cable.
The previous high was 971,000 for Canadiens/Senators Game 6 on Sunday.
The NBCSN broadcast was blacked out in the home markets. In Tampa-St. Petersburg, Sun Sports drew a 7.5 rating for its coverage — easily the highest ever for a Lightning game on the network. The previous high was a comparably mediocre 4.6 for Lightning/Capitals Game 7 in 2011.
Ratings on Fox Sports Detroit were not available.
(Wed. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily, lightning.nhl.com)
