1st round of Stanley Cup Playoffs draws record ratings across North America

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered record TV ratings across North America, including close to 9 million viewers for Game 7 between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

Across North America on ABC, CBC, Sportsnet and TVA Sports, the Boston-Toronto game delivered 8.823 million viewers, making it the most-watched first-round game across North America on record.

That includes an average of 3.22 million viewers on ABC (peaking at 4.1 million) in the United States, up 59 percent and 37 percent from the Game 7 of the first round between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils last season.

It is the most-viewed Game 7 of a Stanley Cup first round ever and also the most-viewed first-round game since 2012 and the third most-viewed first-round game on record.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round between the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes on ESPN on Sunday averaged 2 million viewers (peaking at 2.7 million), up 49 percent and 33 percent from the Game 1 average of the second round last season.

The first round of the playoffs in the U.S. on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, TBS, truTV and MAX averaged 934,000 viewers, making it the second-most watched first round of all-time.

Across all of North America, on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, TNT, TBS, truTV, MAX, CBC, SN, TVA Sports, the first round averaged 2.260 million viewers, up six percent from the first round last season.