Game 1 of the Western Conference Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche just set a television record. 

The match averaged 2.1 million viewers on ESPN, which is the highest for a Western Conference Final opener since 2018.

The figure marks an almost 45% jump from last year's game. Heading into the match, both teams had won Stanley Cups this decade and boast some of the best players in the league.

That, alongside the game being showcased on Wednesday night in a prime-time slot on ESPN, contributed to this landmark number. 

The broader playoff picture backs this up as well. Through 34 games in the 2026 postseason, average viewership has hovered around 1.6 million, a 74% year-over-year increase.

ESPN also recently wrapped its most-watched first and second rounds since taking over the rights deal. The second round alone boasted an average of 2.1 million viewers in its first 10 games, which marks an increase of 69% year-over-year. 

A lot of that comes down to the matchups. The Vegas Golden Knights opened the Western Conference Finals with a win over the Colorado Avalanche and then added another on Thursday.

The teams arrived at finals in great form, with the Avalanche notably boasting an 8-1 playoff record. Vegas also entered with back-to-back 4-2 series victories.

Heading into the finals, Vegas Golden Knights winger Mitch Marner boasted 18 playoff points while center Jack Eichel had 15. On the other hand, Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon arrived with 13 playoff points, with captain Gabriel Landeskog and defenseman Devon Toews all performing well. 

Golden Knights Take the Lead in the Playoffs

Vegas ended up winning Game 1 with a 4-2 at the Ball Arena. Carter Hart stopped 36 shots and was crucial to Vegas maintaining control whenever Colorado tried to build momentum.

Defenseman Dylan Coghlan opened the score for Vegas before Pavel Dorofeyev made it 2-0 late in the second. From thereon, the Golden Knights seemed set for a comfortable win.

Colorado picked up the pace in the third, with Landeskog and MacKinnon cutting the deficit down to 3-2 with a few minutes left. However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished as Vegas’ Carter Hart held on, and forward Nic Dowd scored to seal their win.

Colorado makes its second loss of the entire postseason and its first loss at home. Tortorella is now at 17-4-1 since taking over in late March.

Vegas maintained the momentum in Game 2 and now leads the series 2-0. Colorado now faces an uphill task of making a comeback, as no team has ever come back after going 0-2 down at home in the playoffs.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Sijo Paul