4 Nations Face-Off final draws largest Nielsen audience ever for NHL-sanctioned game

The 4 Nations Face-Off final between Canada and the United States on Thursday averaged more than 9.25 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game in the Nielsen era (since 1988).

According to Braylon Breeze of Sports Media Watch on Twitter/X, Canada's 3-2 overtime win drew 16.1 million viewers across both the U.S. and Canada — nearly matching last year’s Stanley Cup Final Game 7 viewership (16.3 million).

RATINGS: ESPN averaged 9.252 million viewers for Thursday’s Canada–United States Four Nations Championship game.

It is the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record.

Across the United States and Canada, last night’s game drew 16.1 million viewers, nearly matching last…
— Braylon Breeze (@Braylon_Breeze) February 21, 2025

The Nielsen people-meter era dates to 1988. The previous high was 8.72 million for Game 7 between the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, according to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, but that game took place before Nielsen began including out-of-home viewing in its estimates.

A hockey game between the U.S. and Canada featuring the best players in the world is rare, and an automatic ratings hit so long as the players don't treat it as a mere exhibition. That was the only risk the NHL ran by replacing its traditional All-Star Game and Skills Competition with the tournament featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland.

It certainly didn't hurt that the political tensions between the U.S. and Canada were at an all-time high.

Here's Team USA General Manager Bill Guerin going on Fox News to show camaraderie and good sportsmanship towards Canadians who don't appreciate having the sovereignty attacked.

I'm kidding of course. He's inviting Trump to the game. pic.twitter.com/VZhjJhDPFb
— The HockeySport Podcast (@HockeySportPod) February 18, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump called Team USA to wish them well ahead of the game. In his first month in office, Trump has used the threat of tariffs against Canada in political negotiations and spoken rhetorically about making Canada the 51st state — rhetoric he reportedly deployed on his call with General Manager Bill Guerin ahead of the game.

Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, wrote on Twitter/X "You can't take our country — and you can't take our sport" in French.

Vous ne pouvez pas prendre notre pays — et vous ne pouvez pas prendre notre sport.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2025

”A lot of stuff going on with Canada and the USA right now, and us playing against each other was kind of a perfect storm for our sport,” tournament MVP Nathan MacKinnon said after the game. “It was much more popular than even we would have imagined. It was getting so much attention from our whole continent.”

According to Sports Media Watch, the game predictably reflected the popular sentiment. Among its many notable ratings achievements:

• The largest NHL audience ever on the ESPN family of networks
• Better ratings than any Olympic men’s or women’s hockey match since the 2010 final between the same two teams
• The most-watched non-football sporting event since Game 5 of the Dodgers-Yankees World Series back in October
• The most-watched NHL game since Game 6 of the 1973 Stanley Cup Final
• The fourth-most watched NHL game of all time, according tohistorical data released by then-rightsholder NBC 15 years ago.

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