Stanley Cup Finals Shoot, Score on NBC

Games one and two of the Stanley Cup Finals gave NBC its best start in seven years in both viewership and household ratings, as the contests between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings Saturday and Sunday night averaged 4.87 million viewers, the best since 2002 (Detroit-Carolina Hurricanes, 5.35 million, games three and four) and 21% ahead of last year’s Penguins-Red Wings match-up (4.04 million, games 3 and four, Wednesday and Saturday night).

NBC says its two-game 2.8 average rating and 5 share topped last year’s figures by 17% and were its highest since 2002.