NHL sets a major new record on Stanley Cup Playoff opening weekend
Photo credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Tonight, a new announcement from the NHL has confirmed that the league has broken several viewership records already in the United States after the first weekend of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL has always been an after thought when it comes to the four major North American sports.
Particularly in the United States, coverage of hockey generally lags far behind baseball, football, and basketball.
Even so far in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs ESPN have been under fire for poor coverage of the games to this point.
However, according to an announcement from the NHL themselves both ESPN and TNT saw record viewership this weekend.
NHL break a major viewership record in the United States
According to the statement by the NHL, ESPN had the three highest viewed games of round one to this point.
The Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins matchup peaked at over a million views while Philadelphia and Pittsburgh topped out at over 2 million.
For TSN, the Canadiens and Lightning matchup was their marquee game drawing 1.4 million viewers.
This is a great sign after many believed the NHL was in trouble in the United States with regular season viewership taking a major dip in 2025-26.
While there is still work to do regarding the quality of each broadcast, Gary Bettman and the NHL front office have to be happy that playoff hockey is still a big draw for sports fans around the world.
Hopefully, the rest of round one will be able to top these early numbers and continue the jump in popularity of hockey in the United States.
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