A season-opening rout helped sink NHL opening night to a double-digit decline and a nine-year low.

Wednesday’s Bruins-Capitals NHL season opener earned a 0.38 rating and 633,000 viewers on NBCSN, down 24% in ratings and 27% in viewership from last year (Blues-Penguins: 0.50, 872K) and down 28% and 30% respectively from 2016 (Blues-Blackhawks: 0.53, 905K).

The Capitals’ 7-0 win was the least-watched NHL opener since 2009, when another Capitals-Bruins matchup had 509,000 on what was then known as Versus.

Since hitting a high of 956,000 viewers in 2010, viewership for the NHL season opener has declined in each subsequent year.

Despite the lower numbers, the game outdrew all-but-two of last year’s regular season windows on NBCSN. It trailed only the aforementioned Blues-Penguins opener and a Penguins-Flyers game in March (652K).

Later Wednesday night, Ducks-Sharks had a 0.20 and 338,000 (-27%) — the least-watched Opening Night game in any timeslot since 2009 (Sharks-Avalanche: 330K).

The NHL did face tougher Major League Baseball competition than a year ago, with the A’s-Yankees American League Wild Card game up 46% in ratings and 40% in viewership from Rockies-Diamondbacks on the same night last year.

NHL Season Opener Viewership, Past Ten Seasons

Excludes lockout-shortened 2013 season.

[Numbers from Programming Insider 10.4]