The seven-match Panthers-Oilers series averaged 4.2 million viewers on ABC. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The deciding game seven of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers averaged 7.66 million viewers on Disney-owned network ABC, giving it the largest NHL audience since 2019. 

It was the biggest viewership since game seven of the Stanley Cup Final between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins on NBC, which delivered 8.72 million viewers.

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The Panthers' win to clinch the title for the first time in franchise history was also the most-watched NHL game ever on the ESPN networks, although the broadcaster did not air NHL games between 2005 and 2021.

The 2-1 victory by the Panthers, which peaked at 10.3 million viewers, had the seventh-largest NHL audience in the past 30 years and was also the second-most watched NHL game in the last 30 years involving a Canadian team, only beaten by the Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks in 2011.

The seven-match Panthers-Oilers series averaged 4.2 million viewers on ABC, which marks an increase of 58% from last year’s five-game series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers but is down 9% from the six-game Tampa Bay Avalanche-Colorado Lightning series also shown on ABC in 2022, which averaged 4.6 million viewers.

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Across North America, game seven attracted 16.3 million viewers on CBC, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports in Canada, and ABC and ESPN+ in the US. 

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This ranked it as the second most-watched NHL game on record, according to the league. 

The series averaged 8.8 million viewers in North America, up 85% year-on-year. This made it the most-watched Stanley Cup Final in the region since 2013.