Ottawa, Edmonton series see slight dip in average TV audience over first round

TORONTO – NHL playoff television ratings took a slight dip in the second round in series involving Canadian teams, according to a release from Rogers Sportsnet.

The network said in a release Thursday that an average of 1.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the Edmonton versus Anaheim and Ottawa versus New York Rangers conference semifinals.

That number is down marginally from the reported 1.8 million that took in the five opening-round series involving Canadian teams. Calgary, Montreal and Toronto were also competing at that point.

The release said overall numbers were up, however, with the average audience for all series in Round 2 at 1.5 million, an increase of 200,000 from Round 1.

The release said the most-watched game so far remains Game 2 of Toronto’s first-round series against Washington with an average audience of 3.64 million. The most-watched game of Round 2 was Game 6 of the Ottawa New York series, with an average audience of 2.4 million.

The numbers are up significantly from last year when no Canadian teams made the post-season. Through the first five days of the 2016 playoffs, Rogers averaged just over half a million viewers.