Stanley Cup Rakes In Big Ratings Thanks To A Series For The Ages

The NHL must be breathing a sigh of relief after the Edmonton Oilers gave us a series when it looked like the Florida Panthers would make short work of them, and that's reflected in some big numbers for Monday night's Game 7 that saw the Panthers avoiding the choke to end all chokes and winning the Stanley Cup.

The numbers are in and according to the league, the 16.3 million viewers from across North America who tuned into the game is the second most since 2004.

Of course, the Stanley Cup Final — especially when a Canadian team is involved — will do well across North America, but was Canadian viewership pumping those up? The series averaged 8.8 million viewers which was an 85 percent jump over last year.

Well, on ABC where Game 7 aired here in the States, did extremely well especially when you consider an Oilers-Panthers matchup doesn't have the national appeal that other matchups have had over the years.

Notice the 182 percent increase over Game 5 in 2023 which saw the Vegas Golden Knights put a pin in the Panthers (it's important to note that last year's Final was broadcast by TNT and only available on cable, whereas this year it was on network TV). 

That makes sense. I don't know if you remember, but that series featured a very beat-up Panthers team and Vegas did short work of them. There wasn't a whole lot of excitement, especially late in the series.

This series was the exact opposite. Once the Oilers made a stunning comeback to force Game 7. 

That left us with the best player in hockey who already had a record-setting playoff run trying to pull off one of the most incredible comebacks in sports history.

Yeah. That'll bring some eyeballs.

We'll be talking about this Oilers-Panthers series for a long time. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Oilers-Panthers Turned Into A Classic

It's amazing when you consider that the Oilers didn't really get any consistent scoring until the third period in Game 3. It's incredible that this series went the distance.

I thought for sure it was going to end in a forgettable way, but the way the Oilers turned it on made the excitement and intrigue go up with every game as the Cats struggled to put them away,

This is a series we're going to be talking about for a long time. From the way the momentum completely shifted to the individual performances (and at times lack thereof), there's plenty to unpack.

Even the Conn Smythe Trophy winner proved to be one of the most controversial of all time. I think McDavid deserved it based on his historic performance all post-season long, but Barkov's defensive play, especially when up against McDavid, was worthy of it too, as was Bobrovsky's run through the playoffs despite those hiccups in Games 3, 5, and 6.

Still, all of that combines to make for one of the best Finals we've seen in years. Who knows if the 2024-25 season can top what we just saw, but man, if it even comes close, we're in for a treat.