Game 5's overnight rating of 5.0 is up from 4.8 for the clinching Penguins-Predators Game 6 last year on NBCGETTY IMAGES
NBC drew a 5.0 overnight rating for the Capitals’ Stanley Cup-clinching win over the Golden Knights on Thursday night, marking the net’s best Game 5 on record. That figure is up from the clinching Penguins-Predators Game 6 last year on NBC (4.8), and up from a 3.7 for the Penguins-Sharks Game 6 clincher in ’16. DC drew a 25.2 local rating on Thursday night, marking the best figure on record for a Caps game on NBC. Las Vegas led all markets with a 27.6 local rating, which is the second-best figure for a Golden Knights game there, behind only Game 1 (28.1) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
DAREDEVIL OFF THE ICE: NBC last night aired a segment before Game 5 that showed analyst Jeremy Roenick taking a spin around Las Vegas Motor Speedway in NBC Sports’ latest cross-promotion of NASCAR. Roenick shot the segment Wednesday with driver Brendan Gaughan as his teacher. Roenick said he hit about 165 MPH over several laps without wrecking (Adam Stern, Staff Writer). USA TODAY's Kevin Allen wrote Roenick is establishing a "unique niche" as a broadcaster, as he has "shown viewers what it is like to swim with sharks, jump in frigid waters, train with Cirque du Soleil, make a 108-story bungee jump, dress as a pirate, pick up a rattlesnake with a golf club and drive" a race car. Roenick said, “I have a much larger entertainment range than they think I do and I am willing to do things that others won’t do. There are other things I can do because I don’t care if I embarrass myself.” Allen notes NBC "designs feature segments to fit Roenick’s personality" (USA TODAY, 6/8).
NASH BRIDGES: FANSIDED.com's Derek Grochowski noted Predators D P.K. Subban was part of NBC's intermission reports on Thursday, and his "presence on NBC was a breath of fresh air." Subban's appearance came after former Blackhawks LW Patrick Sharp, who retired after this season, "filled in multiple times over the first couple rounds." Subban and Sharp "will be the blueprint of the next wave of broadcasters," as the "closer they are to the game the better it provides better insight" (FANSIDED.com, 6/7). The Athletic's Michael Russo wrote on Twitter, "Watching Subban break down that @NBCSports highlight package like he’s been doing TV for 20 years. He’s a natural." CBSSports.com's Pete Blackburn: "Gotta be kinda annoying when PK Subban strolls onto the TV set and is better at it than the guys who do it for a living" (TWITTER.com, 6/7).
