NBC's coverage of the Chicago Blackhawks' 6-5 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night drew a 2.8 overnight rating, which translates into 2.8% of households in 56 urban TV markets.

That overnight is up 12% from last year's Pittsburgh Penguins-Detroit Red Wings opener — and the highest Game 1 overnight since the Buffalo Sabres-Dallas Stars drew a 3.7 on Fox in 1999. (It's also the highest overnight for a Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 on a Saturday, TV's least-watched night, since Detroit-Philadelphia drew a 5.1 overnight on Fox in 1997.)

It helps that the Cup Finals include two big-market teams. Chicago and Philadelphia, the USA's third- and fourth-biggest TV markets, comprise about 5.6% of U.S. TV households. NBC drew its highest local rating in Chicago, drawing 16.8% of local households.

In Philadelphia, where NHL coverage faced competition for viewer attention from Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay throwing a perfect game Saturday night, NBC's Game 1 drew 13.2% of local TV households.

But TNT, although its NBA playoff ratings were down 11% from last year heading into Game 6 of the Los Angeles Lakers-Phoenix Suns series, still easily outdistanced the NHL Saturday night. Its coverage of the Lakers closing out the Western Conference finals drew a 5.8 overnight as TNT finished its NBA playoff coverage with 39 games — its lowest total since 2002.