Blues vs. Bruins Was Most Watched NHL Game on Record, Drew over 8.9M Viewers
June 13, 2019
The St. Louis Blues' 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final was the most watched NHL game on record since 1994, drawing more than 8.9 million viewers.
Thursday night's game topped the previous record by more than 300,000 viewers, according to NBC Sports PR:
NBC Sports PR also noted that viewership for Thursday night's game peaked at 10.4 million viewers.
All five of the most watched games featured the Cup-clinching contest in the respective Final series. Of note, Boston has been involved in three of the top four games on the list.
According to NBC Sports PR, the 2019 postseason was the most watched in 23 years, and the Blues-Bruins series was the third-most watched Final in history.
It should come as no surprise that St. Louis and Boston were the top markets for the postseason:
Having an Original Six club playing until the final game didn't hurt the broad appeal. Meanwhile, St. Louis was one of six franchises included in the league's first expansion back in 1967.
While the Bruins have hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup six times (including as recently as 2011), the Blues had never won the Cup in their 52-year history. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the 50-season wait marked the longest wait an NHL franchise has ever endured prior to its first championship.