The NHL Stanley Cup Final series is underway, and the Florida Panthers came out hot on their way to a 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers to lead the best of seven series one game to none. The game drew 3.1 million viewers and peaked at 3.65 million. The total viewership is an increase of 12% over Game 1 from last year between Florida and Las Vegas which was shown on Warner Bros. Discovery networks.
Through 42 games, the Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESPN Networks are averaging 1.45 million total viewers, which is up 26% versus 2023’s average and up 16% from 2022.
Overall, the first three rounds of this year’s postseason were the most-watched playoffs for the NHL since 1996 across the United States. They are also the most-watched playoffs since 2018 across North America.
Game 2 of the final series will take place this evening and will be carried by ABC. Sean McDonaugh will call the play-by-play with ice-level reporter Ray Ferraro, and analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban.
Games 3 and 4 will be played on Thursday and Saturday. If necessary, Games 5 and 6 would be next Tuesday and Friday. If a Game 7 is needed, it will be played on Monday June 24.
