GAME 7 – LAST NIGHT’S EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL IS NBCSN’S SECOND-HIGHEST RATED NON-STANLEY CUP FINAL GAME EVER

Lightning-Rangers Delivers 2.65 Overnight Rating, Up 53% vs. 2011 ECF Game 7 Featuring Lightning-Bruins

Tampa Market Posts Highest Rating (11.9) Ever For Lightning Game on Any NBC Network

New York Market Delivers Highest Rating (10.3) Ever For Rangers Game on NBCSN

STAMFORD, Conn. – Saturday, May 30 – Last night’s Eastern Conference Final Game 7 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, in which the Lightning advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final since 2004 with a 2-0 victory at Madison Square Garden, delivered record overnight ratings for NBCSN and record local ratings for both the Tampa and New York markets.

The game produced a 2.65 metered market overnight rating, up 53% versus the last ECF Game 7 in 2011, which also featured the Lightning (vs. Bruins; 1.73), making it the second-highest rated game ever on NBCSN, excluding Stanley Cup Final games, according to The Nielsen Company.

The 2.65 overnight for last night’s game (8-11 p.m. ET) trails only last year’s Western Conference Final overtime Game 7 between the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks (3.17) as the highest-rated non-Stanley Cup Final game ever on NBCSN. Lightning-Rangers Game 7 also ranks as a Top 5 NHL game ever on NBCSN.

Locally, the Tampa market scored an 11.9 HH rating, the highest ever for a Lightning game on any of NBC’s NHL networks (NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, USA). The New York market produced a 10.3 HH rating, the highest ever for a Rangers game on NBCSN, including Games 3-4 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Another Game 7 takes place at 8 p.m. ET tonight on NBC in the Western Conference, as the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks meet at Honda Center to determine who will meet the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, which begins Wednesday, June 3, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

-NBC SPORTS GROUP-