The NHL rollercoaster has hit round 2 of the playoffs and yep, the vibes are electric… well, kinda. It’s been a wild trip from the 4 Nations showdown to this playoff grind, and hockey heads were living for that mini international party. Like seriously, remember when the 4 Nations Faceoff dropped in February? That was pure chaos in the best way. Fans were screaming, jerseys were flying, and ESPN? They hit a jaw-dropping 9.3 million average viewers when Canada and the U.S. clashed in that heart-pounding final. That’s not just a number; that’s record-breaking. It even smoked the old 2019 Stanley Cup Final record like it was nothing. Add in Canada’s crowd? Sportsnet pulled in 5.7 million average with a total reach of 10.7 mil, and folks were glued to their screens.

Overtime came around, nerves were fried, and boom, Canada stole it 3–2. At its peak? 7.3 million viewers losing their minds in real-time. Whew. What. A. Time. But fast forward to now and uh… the buzz kinda fizzled like flat soda. Despite all the fire from the 4 Nations hype train, the NHL playoffs just didn’t hit the same high in the U.S. especially with the NBA flexing on ’em in prime time. It’s like the hockey crowd took a breather or got swept into basketball madness.

Braylon Breeze, the go-to legend for all things hockey TV magic, jumped on X on May 6 and dropped some stats straight from the scoreboard. “Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Viewership: U.S. — 723K viewers (–23% YoY) Canada — 1.8M viewers (+12% YoY) North America — 2.5M viewers (flat YoY)”. So yeah, the U.S. scene? Kinda sluggish. But the neighbors up north? They were locked in, munching popcorn, waving flags, and fully vibing with their teams. Meanwhile, the North American total just kinda sat there like a lukewarm cup of coffee-not bad, not great, just… there.

Now don’t get it twisted. The opening round did sneak in some chaos. A couple of spicy Game 7s? Oh yeah, they tried to save the day. Saturday gave us Avalanche-Stars and although it didn’t pull last year’s Leafs-Bruins numbers (3.2M vs this year’s 2.4M), it still clocked in as the biggest game of this year’s playoffs so far. It was down 25%, sure, but it ranked as the third-most watched opening round game since the NHL and media folks shook hands on the new TV deal in 2022-23. Dallas pulled off a comeback, and yep, that game outdrew almost everything from last year’s early rounds, minus just a tiny handful.

Then Sunday came in hot with Blues-Jets Game 7 on TBS, averaging 1.6 million, yeah, it was down 20% from last year’s Golden Knights-Stars, but let’s be real… it was up against an NBA monster clash (Warriors-Rockets pulling a massive 6.6 mil). Still, the Jets pulled out a chef’s kiss overtime win, peaking at 2.4 million when the pressure was sky-high. And overall? ESPN/ABC averaged 727K for 25 games (down 29%) and TNT Sports sat at 704K for 22 games (down 16%).

Oh, and word is, Max streaming stats didn’t make the cut this year, so that’s probably messing with the vibes. Also, no U.S. Original Six teams in the race this time. No Rangers. No Bruins. So yeah… kind of a buzzkill for the casual crowd. But hey, with more Canadian squads in the mix than we’ve seen since 2017, at least Canada’s holding it down strong.

And yes, the NBA’s heating up like a summer sidewalk! Round 2 of the 2025 playoffs is already spicing things up. The Pacers, Nuggets, and Knicks all snatched those Game 1 dubs on the road. The Pacers handled the Cavs 121-112 in that East semi showdown, the Nuggets slipped past the Thunder in a nail-biting 101-99 stunner, and the Knicks? Oh man, they pulled off a full-on Celtics heartbreak special, down 20, stormed back, and stole it in OT. But let’s skate back to the NHL real quick. The dip in the numbers? Yeah, it might be due to some scheduling issues.

NHL playoffs sees scheduling concerns!

A few weeks back, the Stanley Cup Playoffs were dishing out pure chaos and hockey gold; buzzer beaters, overtime magic, and stars doing what stars do best. The Kings and Oilers gave us a wild rollercoaster in Game 1, with Edmonton almost pulling off the heist before LA slammed the door shut at the buzzer. Meanwhile, Dallas and Colorado went full gladiator mode, duking it out like it was the Western Final already. And come on, Ovi? Still out here cooking defenders and delivering cold-blooded OT daggers for the Caps like it’s light work. The action on the ice? Absolute chef’s kiss. But the vibes off the screen? Kinda shaky.

Well, turns out viewership in the U.S. has been straight-up ghosting the league, down a rough 27% from last year. That’s just brutal, especially when the league’s leaning hard on the playoffs to bring the eyeballs and the cash. And then there’s the whole awkward TBS 10 p.m. slot for the Oilers-Kings saga… again. Braylon Breeze didn’t hold back either, dropping the truth bomb on X: “With the repetitiveness of the Oilers–Kings series comes the repetitive windows — second straight year with this oddball TBS lone window at 10:00 pm ET for Game 2. Viewership didn’t fare well for it last year — just 272K, the second least-watched playoff game under this deal.”

Add in the Battle of Florida hogging ESPN like it’s their personal stage and you’ve got fans of other teams just… waiting around. Wild vs. Golden Knights got bumped and shuffled like an afterthought, and even the Maple Leafs vs. Sens overtime thriller had ripple effects. Canada’s showing up for sure; five squads reppin’ this year, and the Canadiens-Caps game alone pulled nearly 1.7 mil on TVA. But with the U.S. market bringing the big media checks, the NHL can’t afford to keep losing American screens. The games are fire, the talent is unreal, now the league just has to figure out how to stop tripping over its own schedule.