Blackhawks-Lightning Stanley Cup series is second most-watched finals

NEW YORK -- This year's Stanley Cup finals are the second most-watched on record.

The series won by the Chicago Blackhawks over the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games averaged nearly 5.6 million viewers on NBC and NBCSN. It trails only the six-game 2013 series between Chicago and the Boston Bruins, which averaged almost 5.8 million. NBC said Tuesday the audience was up 11 percent from the 5 million for last year's five-game series between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.

Nielsen's records go back to 1994.

Monday's Game 6 drew more than 8 million viewers to make it the fourth-largest audience for an NHL game on record.

Game 6 averaged a 41.0 rating and 57 share in the Chicago area, a record for the market. That means that 41 percent of homes with televisions and 57 percent of households with TVs in use at the time were tuned to the clincher.