Primetime exposure more than made up for the presence of the Ottawa Senators Saturday night.

Saturday’s Senators-Penguins NHL Eastern Conference final Game 1 earned a 1.9 overnight rating on NBC, up 58% from Lightning-Penguins on NBCSN last year (1.2), up 12% from an afternoon Lightning-Rangers game on NBC in 2015 (1.7), and tied as the top NHL conference final opener since Bruins-Penguins in 2013 (2.5). Not coincidentally, that was the last conference final Game 1 to air on primetime broadcast television.

The Senators’ overtime win matched Kings-Blackhawks Game 1 in 2014, which aired on a Sunday afternoon.

Head-to-head, the NHL outdrew competing NASCAR Cup Series action on Fox Sports 1 (1.5). Keep in mind the NASCAR race was at a disadvantage airing on cable and will likely pull ahead of the NHL in the final results.

In the Western Conference, Predators-Ducks Game 1 had 856,000 on NBCSN Friday night — down 48% from Sharks-Blues on a Sunday night last year (1.6M) and down 59% from Blackhawks-Ducks on NBC in 2015 (2.1M). Ratings were not immediately available. It was the least-watched conference final opener since at least 2008, and the least-watched conference final game overall since Coyotes-Kings Game 3 in 2012 (835K).

Game 2 of the series had a 1.0 overnight on NBCSN Sunday; last year’s comparable figure was not available.

(Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports, ShowBuzz Daily 5.15)