NBC earned a 4.8 overnight rating for the Blackhawks’ 4-3 triple OT win over the Bruins last night, which ended at 1:00am ET. The game marks the best figure for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final since Red Wings-Flyers in '97 earned a 5.2 overnight on Fox, and it was up 100% from a 2.4 overnight for the opening Kings-Devils game last year. Bruins-Blackhawks peaked at a 10.5 rating during the 10:30pm window, which included the end of regulation, and is expected to deliver NBC a win in primetime among all networks. Game 1 earned a 28.1 local rating in Boston and a 25.1 in Chicago. Rounding out the top five markets were Providence-New Bedford (18.5), Buffalo (8.5) and Milwaukee (6.1) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
BOMBS AWAY: YAHOO SPORTS' Greg Wyshynski notes Blackhawks RW Andrew Shaw after scoring the game-winning goal "let an F-Bomb slip in his postgame chat with Pierre McGuire on NBC." Shaw said, "It was a great shot, a great set up, f---kin', it was unbelievable. All the guys, we deserved this. It was a great battle for us." Wyshynski writes this continues a "rather odd tradition of players in the Stanley Cup Final dropping the ole F-bomb with Mr. McGuire." Wyshynski: "Please recall both Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick doing it after the Los Angeles Kings won the Cup last season" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/13). Shaw later that night said of the expletive, "Slip of the tongue. I couldn't think at all, actually. Could barely breathe. I think I made up a word in there, too, actually. I was never good in English" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/13).
COULDN'T ASK FOR MORE: CBSSPORTS.com's Brian Stubits writes Game 1 "managed to exceed the expectations." It was an "absolute treat, as if the NHL were trying to make up for a lost start to the season all [in] one night" (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/13). The AP's Nancy Armour writes fans "couldn't have asked for a better start to the finals after what has already been a riveting playoffs" (AP, 6/13). In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes, "What a night for hockey." It "doesn't get much better than what we saw in the United Center" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/13). YAHOO SPORTS' Nicholas Cotsonika writes last night "became about all that is good about the game and the business." This was the kind of game that "justified the love hardcore fans have for the NHL despite its flaws, and this was the kind of game that might have intrigued casual fans and even others who just clicked on the TV expecting Leno" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/13). The GLOBE & MAIL's Eric Duhatschek writes, "All the things that sometimes make the NHL must-see TV were on display during Wednesday night's opener" (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/13). In Chicago, Rick Morrissey writes under the header, "Hawks' Game 1 Victory Provided Kind Of Excitement That Gives Hockey Good Name" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/13). In Boston, Steve Buckley writes the NHL "marketing people don't even need a gimmick." They need "only to make the ice, open the doors, and send two teams into the fray." Buckley: "Let the drama unfold" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/13). In Toronto, Damien Cox writes, "The players and owners didn't deserve this reward after what they did to the game. But they got it" (TORONTO STAR, 6/13).
