Ice Hockey

4/22/2026 |  Cup runneth over: NHL starts playoffs with most-watched opening weekend (Sports Media Watch) Coming off of a strong regular season, the NHL opened its postseason at an even hotter pace.
The opening weekend of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 1.53 million viewers across ESPN and TNT Sports (seven telecasts), up 81% from last year (five telecasts) and the highest average on record.

4/21/2026 |  NHL regular season growth continues apparent momentum for hockey (Sports Media Watch) Chalk it up to a rare ‘Olympic bump’ — or not — but hockey would seem to be enjoying some clear viewership momentum.
The 2025-26 NHL regular season averaged 546,000 viewers across ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports, up 25% from last year and the highest average in more than a decade. The 25% increase is on the high end of a general rise in sports viewership that includes gains of 35% for the NBA, 19% for men’s college basketball and 10% for the NFL.

4/16/2026 |  Wind Storm Causes Significant Damage to Michigan’s Yost Ice Arena (Athletic Business) The University of Michigan’s Yost Ice Arena sustained significant damage during a high-wind storm that swept through Ann Arbor Wednesday morning. 

4/6/2026 |  Buffalo Sabres clinch a playoff spot to end the longest drought in NHL history (Associated Press (AP)) Bring on postseason hockey in Buffalo. The Sabres’ playoff drought is finally over.
Following an NHL-record 14 seasons of futility, during which the team finished no better than 19th in the league, the Sabres clinched a berth on Saturday when the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings in regulation. Buffalo’s playoff drought was among the four North American major sports’ longest active streaks, ranking second behind the NFL’s New York Jets, who last qualified in 2010.

4/4/2026 |  PWHL Breaks Women’s Hockey Attendance Record With MSG Game (Front Office Sports) The PWHL smashed its attendance record with a roaring, sold-out Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The three-year-old league’s first game at MSG featuring the New York Sirens vs. the Seattle Torrent brought in 18,006 fans, breaking the previous record it set at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena in February. It marks the highest-attended game in women’s hockey history.