The Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers compete in the first round during ‘NHL Outdoors At Lake Tahoe’ at Edgewood Tahoe Resort on February 21, 2021 in Stateline, Nevada. (Photo by Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
The Bruins and Flyers landed on Lake Tahoe on prime-time Sunday night, and it was a bonanza for ratings.
As announced by NBC Sports and the NHL on Wednesday, Sunday’s much-belated game between the Bruins and Flyers turned out to be the most-watched regular season game in NBCSN history. The game drew a total of 1.068 million viewers, surpassed the previous 978,000 mark, and marked the first time a regular season game exceeded the 1 million milestone.
The Bruins Flyers game was originally scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday before weather issues – ironically excessive sunlight – forced delays until late afternoon. It also switched from NBC to NBCSN, which meant it became more of a cable broadcast than network television.
Thus, the Bruins and Flyers also delivered the highest ratings for an NHL broadcast over cable since the Red Wings and Sharks played on ESPN in 2002.
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The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights also got relatively high ratings, although the show was split into two parts. The first game period attracted 1.368 million viewers in the window from 3 p.m. to 30 p.m., 30 percent more than the average of last season for a regular season game outside of the Winter Classic 2020.
PHOTOS: Bruins v Flyer at Lake Tahoe
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. All opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any of its affiliates. Do you have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Shout at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at [email protected].
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