NBC Sports Group’s cable coverage of the playoffs on NBCSN, CNBC, and USA Network (and their live streams) is off to its best start ever, with TAD averaging 581,000 viewers for 15 telecasts, up 14% vs. last year (509,000).

The Toronto-Washington series is currently the most-watched first-round series to feature a Canadian team in NBC Sports cable history, averaging a TAD of 724,000 viewers through its first two games (data is not yet available for last night’s game). All three games in the series have gone to overtime, with the Maple Leafs now holding a 2-1 lead.

Through Sunday’s games, NBC Sports Digital’s live streaming coverage of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered 437,000 unique users and 53.1 million minutes, both postseason records, and up 15% and 17%, respectively, vs. the same time period last season (379,000 and 45.2 million).

First-round viewership is being bolstered by side-by-side coverage in local markets. For the first time since NBC Sports Group acquired NHL rights prior to the 2005-06 season, coverage of Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round games on NBCUniversal cable networks (NBCSN, CNBC, USA Network) as well as NHL Network, are airing side-by-side in local markets alongside regional sports network telecasts. In addition, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are providing streaming coverage of every first-round game. Prior to this season, NBC Sports’ national first-round cable telecasts were blacked out in all local U.S. markets. Local television and streaming blackouts still apply in Boston and Pittsburgh in the first round.