Rangers/Sens Draws Big Numbers on Monday; Coyotes/Hawks Hits CNBC High

For a while in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the ratings story read that it was basically Penguins/Flyers… and then everyone else. Everyone else is starting to catch up as the Conference Quarterfinals come to a close.

Monday night’s broadcast of Game 6 between the Rangers and Senators – in which New York forced Game 7 – drew 861,000 viewers, the third-highest numbers so far on cable for round one. The previous high for the series was Game 2 (4/14/12: 708,000). It is now in the category of most-watched non-Pens/Flyers game of the first round.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes elimination of the Blackhawks drew good numbers later on in the evening for CNBC. The Game 6 clincher scored 621,000 viewers. That marks the most viewers for a CNBC game so far this post-season. It’s the second-highest rated game of the series, as Game 2 also was tops in this set (4/14/12: 725,000) though that game was exclusively on NBCSN in the Phoenix market.

NBC will benefit over the next couple of days, with three Game 7’s across the networks, but they likely can’t help but be thrilled with what they’ve seen so far.

Top 10 Most-watched Games of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Cable

1. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 5 (4/20/12, NBCSN): 1.07 million
2. Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, Game 4 (4/18/12, NBCSN): 1.03 million
3. NY Rangers vs. Ottawa, Game 6 (4/23/12, NBCSN): 861,000
4. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 1 (4/11/12, NBCSN): 847,000
5. Los Angeles vs. Vancouver, Game 5 (4/22/12, NBCSN): 817,000
6. Boston vs. Washington, Game 3 (4/16/12, NBCSN): 804,000
7. Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh, Game 2 (4/13/12, NBCSN): 795,000
8. New Jersey vs. Florida, Game 2 (4/15/12, NBCSN): 768,000
9. Vancouver vs. Los Angeles, Game 4 (4/18/12, NBCSN): 748,000
10. Chicago vs. Phoenix, Game 2 (4/14/12, NBCSN): 725,000

(Source: @SonoftheBronx)