A Stanley Cup Final matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins was popular with local television viewers, but nowhere near as popular as last season’s meeting between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Wednesday’s Game 7, a 4-1 victory that gave St. Louis its first Stanley Cup, was the most-watched hockey game since the current ratings system was put in place in 1994, drawing more than 8.9 million viewers for NBC Sports nationally, counting TV and internet streaming. The overnight TV rating was 4.90.
Pittsburgh was the seventh-ranked market in the country with a 9.2 rating, trailing St. Louis, Boston, Providence, Buffalo, Kansas City and Ft. Myers, Fla.
Eleven markets set an all-time ratings record for a game not involving a home team, but Pittsburgh wasn’t one of them. That distinction belongs to last year’s clinching Game 5 victory for the Capitals over Marc-Andre Fleury and the Golden Knights, which drew a 10.7 rating.
Pittsburgh was the sixth-ranked market in the country for the final series with a 5.3 rating. That’s down from an 8.1 last year.
Pittsburgh was the fifth-ranked market in the country for the playoffs as a whole, tied with Denver with a 2.0 rating. Last year, Pittsburgh tied with Vegas for the top spot with a 4.5.
This year, the Penguins played only four playoff games, bowing out in a first-round sweep against the New York Islanders. Last year, they played 12 playoff games.
