The Ottawa Senators may not have advanced to the final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the final match between the Sens and the Pittsburgh Penguins was still one for the record books. An average of 4.29 million Canadians tuned in to Sportsnet and CBC for the May 26 game, making the match the largest audience for this year’s Playoffs.

The game reached a total of 11 million viewers, with a peak audience of 4.71 million fans at 11:27 p.m., right as the game went into its second overtime.

It set a record not only for this post-season’s broadcasts but for the Senators as well – it drew in the largest audience for the Senators post-season in the franchise’s history.

The ousting of the Sens means Canadian teams are officially out of the Playoffs, but ratings for the game were still up considerably over last year. According to Numeris, last year’s broadcast of the third round (where no Canadian teams were present) drew an average of 1.14 million people.

Starting tonight, the Penguins will face off against the Nashville Predators for game one of the final round.

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