In their first appearance on NBC, the expansion Vegas Golden Knights generated a Stanley Cup ratings high in the metered markets.
Saturday’s Sharks-Golden Knights Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 2 had a 1.7 overnight rating on NBC, down 10% from last year (1.85) but even with 2016 (1.7), both of which were Penguins-Capitals games.
San Jose’s double-overtime win was the highest rated game of the playoffs in the metered markets, edging the previous high of 1.6 for Penguins-Flyers Game 3 and Game 6 in the first round.
With that said, the 1.7 ties the lowest mark for a primetime game on NBC this late in the postseason — second round or later — since 2007 (Ducks-Senators: 1.5).
Earlier in the day, Bruins-Lightning Game 1 had a 1.4 overnight (+10%).
On Sunday, Penguins-Capitals Game 6 had a 1.5 overnight on NBC — up 15% from last year (Blues-Predators: 1.3) and up a tick from 2016 (Blues-Stars: 1.4).
The Jets-Predators nightcap scored a 1.0 on NBCSN, up 39% from last year (Ducks-Oilers: 0.69) and up 45% from 2016 (Predators-Sharks: 0.66). Game 1 of that series had a 0.65 overnight on Friday (+2%).
Locally, Sharks-Golden Knights had a 14.1 in Las Vegas and a 2.6 in the Bay Area. The 14.1 in Vegas is the market’s best ever for the first-year Golden Knights.
Bruins-Lightning had an 8.7 in Boston and a 7.9 in Tampa-St. Petersburg, the latter a record for a non-Stanley Cup Final game in the market.
Penguins-Capitals scored a 21.2 in Pittsburgh — NBC’s second-best semifinal rating in the market — and a 6.3 in Washington. Finally, Jets-Predators delivered a 9.5 on Friday and a 10.9 on Sunday in Nashville, the market’s two highest semifinal ratings ever on the NBC family of networks.
[Numbers from NBC Sports 4.30; NBC Sports/Twitter 4.29 a, b, c]
