NHL
4 Nations Face-Off Final Becomes Most-Watched NHL Game Ever In U.S.
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Get to know Dan Girolamo betterPublished21 Feb 2025
The ratings are in, and the message is clear: Americans loved the 4 Nations Face-Off. The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off final between the United States and Canada is now the most-watched NHL game ever in the United States.
4 Nations Face-Off Final TV Ratings
Canada-USA NHL #4Nations Face-Off Championship delivers ESPN's largest hockey audience EVER: 9.3M viewers
🏒Peak: 10.4M viewers
🏒Most-viewed event on ESPN platforms since 2024 NBA Finals (excluding NFL & CFB)
🏒Most-viewed non-NFL event ever on ESPN+🔗https://t.co/p474HEVpYz pic.twitter.com/EuVZGlqScr
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 21, 2025
Per Nielsen, the 4 Nations championship game averaged 9.3 million viewers, peaking at 10.4 million.
The 4 Nations final is now the most-watched NHL game in the United States, surpassing the previous record of 8.9 million for Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins.
In Canada, Sportsnet averaged 5.7 million viewers and registered a total of 10.7 million viewers. Put the two averages together, and that means more than 16 million viewers watched Thursday night’s hockey game.
The 4 Nations final was the most-watched hockey game since the 2010 Olympic gold medal game between the United States and Canada, which averaged 27.6 million viewers.
The 4 Nations was a ratings juggernaut for hockey. Last Saturday’s game between the United States and Canada averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC, which was the most-watched non-Stanley Cup game since 2019.
4 Nations Results
THERE IT IS! THE GAME WINNER! THE TOURNAMENT WINNER! 😱😱😱
CONNOR MCDAVID HAS WON IT FOR CANADA!!! #4Nations pic.twitter.com/nDneA2e26K
— NHL (@NHL) February 21, 2025
The championship between the United States and Canada was decided by the best player in the world.
Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime to give Canada the 3-2 victory over the United States.
Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon, who was named MVP of the 4 Nations, scored a goal along with Sam Bennett. Goalie Jordan Binnington made 31 saves, including two monstrous stops against Team USA’s Austin Matthews in overtime.
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scored for the United States.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was an overwhelming success for the NL. It also served as a preview for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the NHL players will be allowed to play for the first time since 2014.
