How Regular Season Nhl Local Ratings Stack Up

Byline: Matthew Coller The good news: 14 of the 22 U.S. teams with available ratings had more people watching local NHL broadcasts than last year. The bad: If you add up the bottom seven teams' households, they still fall short of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The strange: The Buffalo Sabres, who missed the playoffs in 2008-09 had 18 percent less viewers on average in 2009-10 and the San Jose Sharks, who spent most of the season at No. 1 in the Western Conference (and finished first) also saw a significant drop (20 percent). Also in the strange department, the St. Louis Blues, who missed the playoffs, brought in 20.8 percent more viewers than last season.