Thanks to Buffalo, Hockey Day In America tripleheader viewership is up 21 percent

Tripleheader Across NBC and NBCSN averages more than 1.2 million viewers

NBC Sports Group's Hockey Day In America tripleheader this past Sunday - highlighted by the NHL Stadium Series matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild from TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis - averaged more than 1.2 million viewers across NBC and NBCSN, up 21 percent vs. NBC Sports Group's 2015 Hockey Day In America coverage (992,000), according to data provided by The Nielsen Company.

Hockey Day In America capped a week of NHL coverage that featured the two most-watched NHL games on NBCSN since opening night, putting NBCSN on pace to have its most-watched NHL regular season ever.

NBC's presentation of the Blackhawks-Wild NHL Stadium Series game (3:32-6:20 p.m. ET), in which Minnesota defeated Chicago 6-1, delivered a 1.13 HH rating and averaged 1.86 million viewers to become the second-most watched Hockey Day In America game ever (Pittsburgh-Chicago, Feb. 20, 2011; 1.89 million), excluding regionalized coverage.

NBCSN's "Sunday Night Hockey" matchup featuring the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers (7:01-9:51 p.m.), in which New York earned a 1-0 overtime win, produced a 0.42 HH rating and averaged 694,000 viewers to become the network's most-watched Hockey Day In America telecast.

NBC Sports Group's Hockey Day In America tripleheader began with a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres (12:38-3:17 p.m.), as more than 1 million viewers watched Pittsburgh defeat Buffalo 4-3. The game delivered a 0.71 HH rating and, overall, the tripleheader on NBC and NBCSN produced a 0.75 HH rating.

Buffalo led all local markets during NBC Sports Group's Hockey Day In America coverage with a 10.1 HH rating for Penguins-Sabres. Minneapolis delivered a 9.4 HH rating for Blackhawks-Wild to rank as the highest-rated regular-season game ever on NBC in the market.