The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has been an incredible success for the NHL in terms of ratings.
TNT Sports brought in an average of 1.2 million viewers per contest across their family of networks — TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max. The number represents an increase of 68% compared to the 2024-25 season and the highest ratings scored since they’ve added the National Hockey League back in the 2021-22 campaign.
For ESPN, they’ve brought in an average of 1.2 million viewers in their 22 first-round contests, which is a 69% increase in comparison to the 2025 postseason. It’s also the Disney-owned network’s highest ratings for the first round since bringing back the NHL to their coverage five seasons ago. (RELATED: Oilers’ Connor McDavid Says Edmonton ‘Has Taken A Step Back’ Following First-Round Elimination From Playoffs)
Per the league, the average viewership of 1.2 million with each brand is the largest ever for a Stanley Cup first round in the United States.
There’s multiple reasons why the NHL is seeing a ratings boost, with one of them being the post-wave of the Winter Olympics that saw the Team USA men’s hockey team defeat Canada in overtime, 2-1, to win the gold medal. The late portion of the NHL’s regular season experienced a ratings bump following the Olympics.
The league also had a stockpile of storylines heading into the playoffs.
The NHL first-round ratings are up nearly 70% year over year.
The boost is driven by record viewership for both ESPN and TNT Sports, which each posted their most-watched first round of their current NHL media rights deals.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 6, 2026
Breaking their 14-year postseason drought, the longest in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres entered things after winning the Atlantic Division. Another headliner was the Battle of Pennsylvania, which saw the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins square off after each barely made the playoffs in the last stretch of the regular season.
The Utah Mammoth, who have been in Salt Lake City for just two seasons, clinched a postseason berth for the first time since their relocation. There was also a headline that involved the Vegas Golden Knights, with head coach John Tortorella leading the team into the playoffs only coaching eight games in the regular season.
Electric play was also involved in the first-round series, particularly the matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, which had a total of four overtime contests in a series that went the maximum of seven games. Broadcasted on TNT, Game 7 brought in an average viewership of 2.3 million. In a press release, per Front Office Sports, TNT Sports stated that the contest was the highest-viewed first-round game ever for the Stanley Cup playoffs that was exclusively aired on cable.
Another factor for the rise in ratings is that the NHL’s games are on actual television. According to journalist Ethan Strauss, the NBA carrying their postseason contests on streaming services such as Peacock and Amazon Prime Video may have given an advantage to the National Hockey League. NHL postseason games have been carried on traditional networks such as ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS. Contests have also been streaming on ESPN Unlimited and HBO Max.