NBC Sports Network's coverage of Game 3 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals drew 4 million viewers Monday night, topping the record that was set by Game 2 of the series last Saturday as the most-watched NHL game in the network's history, according to Nielsen.
The game, which saw the Boston Bruins take a 2-1 lead in the series, topped the 3.96 million that tuned into Game 2. It was also the most-watched Stanley Cup Finals game on cable in 11 years. It was up 93% over NBCSN's second Stanley Cup Final broadcast last year (Game 4).
Monday's telecast is now also the second-most watched event in NBCSN history, trailing only the U.S.-Japan women's soccer gold medal match during last summer's Olympics, which averaged 4.350 million viewers.
Locally, Boston led all markets with a 27.2 household rating, the highest local rating ever in the market for an NHL game on NBCSN. Chicago received a 16.8, up 7% from the Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup Final average on NBCSN in the market (15.7).
The two games combined to average 3.98 million viewers on NBCSN, the most for a Stanley Cup Final on cable in 16 years. The rest of the series will be aired by NBC.
