Blue Jackets, Red Wings Pull Huge Ratings for Stadium Series

Saturday's Stadium Series game, a 5-3 win for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium, proved to be a major success, as ESPN announced it drew 1.6 million viewers on average and peaked at 1.8 million viewers. That makes it the most-viewed Stadium Series game ever on cable, and the most-viewed Stadium Series game in general since 2019.

Moreover, this is the NHL's most-viewed regular-season game since ESPN re-acquired the rights to the league in 2021.

It's an impressive turnaround for the league considering where it was not too long ago.

On New Year's Eve, the St. Louis Blues defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 at Wrigley Field in the Winter Classic. That game only drew 920,000 average viewers, making it the lowest-rated Winter Classic on record.

Even with the game on New Year's Eve instead of New Year's Day to avoid competing with the College Football Playoff, and even with the game featuring two teams that likely won't be anywhere near the playoffs this season, those low ratings were absolutely a cause for concern.

Luckily, this game had much more excitement behind it, even discounting the 4 Nations boost. Columbus and Detroit currently occupy the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference, adding some significant stakes to this game late in the season.

Additionally, this was the Blue Jackets' first-ever appearance in an outdoor game and the Red Wings' first since 2017, so them being fresh faces probably helped them out.

WIth the Stanley Cup Playoffs just over a month away, hopefully the league continues to ride this wave and delivers a postseason to remember.