Across North America on NBC, CBC, SN and TVA Sports, the Golden Knights' 6-4 win against the Capitals averaged 8.395 million viewers, up 7 percent from last season's Game 1 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.
In Canada, more than 8 million Canadians (1 in 4.5) watched some or all of the game, up 4 percent from last year's Game 1.
RELATED: *[Complete Golden Knights vs. Capitals series coverage*]
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is at Vegas on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CN, CBC, TVAS).
Las Vegas delivered a 28.1 rating, the highest for a Golden Knights game in the market, surpassing Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the Winnipeg Jets (17.9).
With a 16.0 rating in Washington, D.C., Game 1 was the highest-rated Capitals game on the networks of NBC in the market, topping this season's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on NBCSN (12.6).
Game 1 had a total audience delivery (TAD) of 5.279 million viewers on NBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app, the highest for a Game 1 since 2015 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Lightning (5.586 million) and the third-best since NBC Sports began broadcasting the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 (Game 1 between the Boston Bruins and Blackhawks in 2013 had a TAD of 6.315 million).
Last season's Game 1 between Pittsburgh and Nashville had a TAD of 4.925 million, and Game 1 in 2016 between the Penguins and San Jose Sharks had a TAD of 4.132 million.
Overall, the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs are the most-watched in 21 years.
