It was a match worthy of a final! For more than an hour, the USA and Canada danced around each other on the ice at TD Garden before the visitors won the 4 Nations championship game 3-2 in OT last night. Connor McDavid‘s 8:18 overtime goal brought Team Canada the breakthrough they were looking for so desperately. But off the ice too, the match was just as noteworthy.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was projected as a “Landmark International Hockey Tournament” that had the potential to replace the NHL All-Star game for good in the future. And from the looks of things, it seems like the championship match bolstered the claim once again.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
A post by NHL News on X from February 21 has shared the TV viewership data from last night’s 4 Nations championship match. As per the post, the USA and Canada’s second clash in the tournament was the “Most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record in the United States.” In the United States, the match drew 9.252 million average viewers on the ESPN network alone, while across the border, the number reached a beefy 6.883 million.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
A combined average viewership of 16.135 million was a new milestone in terms of how many people watched the game on TV. According to a BucciOT.com, the number was “Higher than any NHL game ever,” underscoring the immense hype that the 4 Nations championship game managed to create.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
The story is developing