As the National Hockey League approaches its All-Star festivities in Toronto, Ontario, its national slate of games on ESPN is ending with a flourish. The matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and New York Rangers averaged 569,000 total viewers on Friday night, which is up 46% compared to last year’s NHL on ESPN average. Viewers that emanated from the persons 18-49 demographic averaged 244,000, which is also up 38% from last year’s average for NHL coverage on the network.
The viewership for the matchup, which ended in a 5-2 Golden Knights victory, peaked with 663,000 viewers in the 8:30 p.m. EST quarter-hour. With the win, the Golden Knights retained their second place spot in the Pacific division with 64 points, whereas the Rangers remained atop the Metropolitan division with 61 points.
Through 17 game broadcasts, the NHL on ESPN is averaging 560,000 viewers, which is up 40% compared to last year. Additionally, the property has averaged 251,000 viewers within the persons 18-49 demographic, 43% higher than last year’s totals. During the second half of the season, ESPN will continue to present select NHL games on ABC as part of its Hockey Saturdays initiative.
Out of the break, ABC will have a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 10 starting with the St. Louis Blues’ matchup against the Buffalo Sabres at 1 p.m. EST. The game will be followed by an Eastern Conference showdown featuring the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins at 3:30 p.m. EST.
ESPN will broadcast events throughout All-Star Weekend in Toronto, including the return of the player draft on Thursday night at 6 p.m. EST on ESPN2 and ESPN+. On Friday, the All-Star Skills Competition and its revamped format will be live at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN and ESPN+. The weekend of festivities concludes on Saturday with the NHL All-Star Game at 3 p.m. EST on ABC and ESPN+
