Last night's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, a game on NBC earned a 4.3 overnight rating and an 8 share (8 p.m.-12:45 a.m. ET), the best overnight rating for a Stanley Cup Final Game 5 in six years (2002 - Carolina-Detroit, 4.5/8) and the best for an NHL game on NBC since NBC reacquired the NHL in 2004. The rating, which peaked at a 5.8/10 from 11-11:30, was up 79 percent over last year's Game 5 on NBC (Anaheim-Ottawa, 2.4/4). Also, NBC's Saturday night Game 4 coverage captured the night in Adults 18-49, the first primetime victory for the NHL in seven years (see below).

The Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 triple overtime “instant classic” victory over the Detroit Red Wings delivered a 35.4/52 in Pittsburgh and a 29.6/46 in Detroit. Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora scored the winning goal at 9:57 of the third overtime period after forecasting his goal in the second overtime to NBC's Inside-the-Glass reporter Pierre McGuire, who was stationed between the teams' benches. McGuire reported on the air: "Usually you don't have people tell you they're going to score in overtime, they just go out and do it. Petr Sykora just tapped the glass, pointed to his chest and said 'I'm going to score.'"

The game was the fifth-longest Stanley Cup Final game in history going 109:57

The Game 5 ratings bonanza came on the heels of Saturday night's Game 4, which earned a 2.3/5 national rating, up 21 percent over last year (Anaheim-Ottawa, Monday, June 4, 1.9/3). NBC ranked No. 1 in primetime on Saturday in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and all key adult-male demographics. This marks the first time Stanley Cup coverage has scored a primetime win since Saturday, June 9, 2001 (Stanley Cup Final Game 7, Colorado-New Jersey).

The two-game average of a 2.4/4 is 60 percent higher than last year (1.5/3). In the coveted Men 18-49 demo, NBC has scored 109 percent higher than the first two games of last year's Final, 2.3 to 1.1.

NBC Sports is broadcasting Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup Final in primetime. Coverage resumes with Game 6 tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh, with the Red Wings leading the series 3-2. "We're going to a Game 7," said NBC's McGuire. "The Penguins have all the momentum, the crowd's going to be nuts and I can't see them not coming up with anything but their best effort of the Final."

Source: National Hockey League

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

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