Thursday’s Game 6 between the Bruins and Maple Leafs broke cable records in the United States, as the Leafs’ win averaged 1,441,000 viewers on TBS, making it the most-viewed opening round Game 6 to air on cable in history.
Furthermore, Thursday’s contest is now the most-watched game of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs to date. With the previous high being set last Saturday for Game 4 of the Rangers and Capitals on TBS/truTV (1.400 million).
The Maple Leafs and Bruins series is averaging 1,261,000 viewers across six games in the United States, which is enough to make it the highest-viewed series under the NHL’s current television contract with ESPN and TNT Sports. However, the viewership success also carries over north of the border, as the Maple Leafs-Bruins are averaging 2,967,000 viewers across English and French networks in Canada for the six-game series. The most-viewed of which comes from Thursday night, as Game 6 averaged 3,781,000 viewers in Canada. Across both countries, the series is currently averaging a combined 4,233,000 viewers.
Previously, the Bruins and Maple Leafs have met multiple times in an opening round Game 7 scenario. The latest occurred in 2019, which averaged 1,297,000 viewers on a Tuesday night on NBCSN, along with another a year prior, in 2018, as the two met on a Wednesday night in the opening round, which averaged 1,415,000 viewers on NBCSN. Moreover, to show how improved the NHL has become with its new television deal versus the old, Game 7 of the Bruins and Maple Leafs in the opening round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs aired on CNBC, a channel which is typically known for covering the stock market.
Meanwhile, in the States, Saturday night’s game seven is set to air on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, with Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Ray Ferraro (analyst), and Emily Kaplan (reporter) on the call from Boston. Currently, the NHL’s most-watched opening round game on record comes from the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with game six of the Bruins-Capitals on NBC (3.519 million), and it is very much within reach of being broken in a day’s time.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins Viewership (United States)
Game 1: 1,140,000 viewers (TBS)
Game 2: 1,130,000 viewers (ESPN)
Game 3: 1,238,000 viewers (ESPN)
Game 4: 1,390,000 viewers (TBS/truTV)
Game 5: 1,224,000 viewers (ESPN)
Game 6: 1,441,000 viewers (TBS)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins Viewership (Canada)
Game 1: 2,654,600 viewers (English: 2,381,700 viewers, French: 272,900 viewers)
Game 2: 2,552,100 viewers (English: 2,312,600 viewers, French: 209,500 viewers)
Game 3: 2,817,000 viewers (English: 2,569,000 viewers, French: 128,000 viewers)
Game 4: 3,116,000 viewers (English: 2,814,000 viewers, French: 302,000 viewers)
Game 5: 2,914,000 viewers (English: 2,576,000 viewers, French: 338,000 viewers)
Game 6: 3,781,000 viewers (English: 3,400,000 viewers, French: 381,000 viewers)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins (United States and Canada)
Game 1: 3,794,600 viewers
Game 2: 3,682,100 viewers
Game 3: 4,055,000 viewers
Game 4: 4,506,000 viewers
Game 5: 4,138,000 viewers
Game 6: 5,222,000 viewers