The NHL season reached its conclusion with a near-historic seven game series between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers, which the Panthers won four games to three. This was the first Stanley Cup championship in the history of the organization. Across North America, the NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 7 drew 16.3 million viewers between ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes, CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Since the data has been tracked in 2004, the is the second most-watched NHL game across North America on record.
ESPN says the game drew 7.7 million viewers in the U.S. on its platforms, an increase of 182% over last year’s final game which was Game 5 between Florida and Vegas. It was also an increase of 32% over the 2022 final game between Colorado and Tampa Bay.
The game peaked at 10.3 million viewers from 10:45 p.m. ET to 11:00 p.m. ET and drew the largest non-Original Six audience on record. The Original Six consists of the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Overall, the Stanley Cup Final averaged 8.8 million viewers across North America and 4.2 million viewers in the U.S.
