“The strong viewership thus far for the playoffs shows the power of the NHL to engage both hardcore and casual fans,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer and President, Production, NBC Sports and NBCSN. “Whether it is the surging popularity of the Predators, the remarkable expansion story of the Golden Knights, or the epic rivalry between Pittsburgh and Washington, fans are consuming in record numbers. And the viewership trends are even more notable given that, for the first time ever, the Original Six teams of Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, and New York all missed the playoffs.”

Total Audience Delivery (TAD) for 49 games across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, Golf Channel, USA Network, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app has averaged 891,000 viewers. It is the best average viewership since 2012 (1.086 million viewers) through the third Sunday of the playoffs, is up 7% from last year (830,000), and up 10% vs. 2016 (809,000).

NBCSN is averaging a TAD of 780,000 viewers through the third Sunday, the best viewership on record for the networkand up 16% vs. last year (672,000). The network is also averaging a TAD of 1.105 million viewers for four Second Round telecasts so far, up 34% vs. last year (826,000).

Nine playoff broadcasts on NBC have averaged a TAD of 1.975 million viewers, the best since 2014 (2.145 million), and up 14% vs. 2017 (1.732). For the Second Round, NBC’s three broadcasts have averaged a TAD of 2.098 million viewers, up 11% vs. 2017 (1.883 million).

Saturday night’s double-overtime San Jose-Las Vegas Game 2 on NBC was the most-watched game of the weekend, averaging a TAD of 2.249 million viewers. It is the best Second Round game featuring a West Coast team in seven years, since Detroit-San Jose in 2011 (2.251 million). TV-only viewership for the game peaked with 3.180 million viewers from 11:45 p.m.-midnight ET.

Sunday afternoon’s Pittsburgh-Washington Game 2 averaged a TAD of 2.215 million viewers, up 37% vs. St. Louis-Nashville last year (1.613 million). TV-only viewership for the game peaked at 3.626 million in its final minutes after 6 p.m. ET. Sunday night’s Winnipeg-Nashville game on NBCSN delivered a TAD of 1.266 million viewers, up 53% vs. last year’s Anaheim-Edmonton game (827,000).

Through the first 51 games of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, live streaming coverage has set records for uniques (1.7 million; up 65%), total live minutes (245 million; up 24%), and Average Minute Audience (28,400 viewers; up 47%).

Following are the Top 15 local markets through the third Sunday of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs: