Two teams with growing local followings did not attract a large national audience on Sunday.
NBC drew a 1.0 overnight rating for Sunday’s Capitals/Blackhawks game, down 9% from both Rangers/Flyers last year (1.1) and Penguins/Flyers in ’08 (1.1).
The 1.0 overnight is the second-lowest of the season for an NHL telecast on NBC, ahead of only Blackhawks/Red Wings in January (0.8) — which aired opposite a Cowboys/Vikings NFC Divisional Round game on FOX.
Sunday’s game marked only the second time in the past three seasons that an NHL telecast on NBC did not feature the Red Wings, Penguins or Rangers.
