Game 1 of the finals on ESPN ties for lowest rated since 1990

NEW YORK – Calgary’s 4-1 win over Tampa Bay on Tuesday night tied for the lowest-rated Stanley Cup finals game on ESPN since 1990.

Game 1 was watched by an average of 1,013,000 people and had a rating of 1.1. Of the 34 Stanley Cup finals game the network has televised since 1990, only Game 2 of last year’s series between New Jersey and Anaheim had a rating as low.

Last year’s Game 1 had a 1.4 rating.

In contrast, the game between the Flames and the Lightning was the second-highest rated NHL game ever on Canadian network CBC, drawing over 3 million viewers.

Only the New York Rangers’ 3-2 win over Vancouver in Game 7 of the 1994 finals had a larger audience.

AP-ES-05-26-04 1752EDT