The Great Canadian Ratings Report: NHL scores big — and so do the Raptors

As the NHL and NBA playoffs continue to eat up air time, there's nothing but good news for Canadian broadcasters -- at least so far.

Outside of a Game 7 triple overtime win by the Montreal Canadiens, the CBC couldn't be happier with the way the NHL playoffs have gone so far.

The Canadiens are moving on to the second round, which means at least one more series of big ratings for the network. The series has averaged more than 2 million viewers per game and that should only get better if the Canadiens keep moving.

It's not as if the American teams have been drawing flies. TSN got more than 1 million viewers for its Detroit-Boston broadcast on Sunday. Saturday's Penguins-Blue Jackets game hit 1.5 million for CBC on Saturday night, but that's less than the average Toronto Maple Leafs audience during the regular season. Canadian teams drive ratings and so far the Habs have been doing just that.

CBC executives are planning a trip to Lourdes this week to pray for a Montreal run.

In the arena where the Leafs used to play, the Toronto Raptors are doing surprisingly well for TSN. Their opening games against Brooklyn averaged 539,000 and 610,000. While that's less than the average CFL game, it's triple what the Raptors averaged during the regular season.

Most impressive was the fact that almost 3 million people watched at least some part of the game -- up against the Montreal-Tampa thriller. And 1.6 million watched the final minute.

If the series goes deep, that momentum should build and it could lead to bigger numbers next year.

While the Raptors are showing promise, their soccer brethren aren't faring so well on television. In what has to be a major embarrassment, the team's game against Dallas on Saturday drew the interest of only 35,000 viewers to Sportsnet One.

Granted, Saturday night during the hockey playoffs is never good for ratings and Sportsnet One doesn't have the widest distribution. But 35,000 is the kind of audience you'd expect for lumberjack competitions.

This is not what MLSE envisioned when it paid out all those millions for star players.

Here are the most-watched sports events on English-language television for the past weekend, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Lightning at Canadiens, Sunday, CBC: 2,825,000

2. NHL, Lightning at Canadiens, Tuesday, CBC: 2,232,000

3. NHL, Canadiens at Lightning, Friday, CBC: 1,758,000

4. NHL, Avalanche at Penguins, Saturday, CBC: 1,523,000

5. NHL, Kings at Sharks, Sunday, CBC: 1,219,000

6. NHL, Red Wings at Bruins, Sunday, TSN: 1,089,000

7. NHL, Stars at Ducks, Friday, TSN: 962,000

8. NHL, Sharks at Kings, Tuesday, CBC: 855,000

9. NHL, Red Wings at Bruins, Friday, TSN: 804,000

10. NHL, Hawks at Blues, Saturday, CBC: 705,000

11. NHL, Wild at Avalanche, Saturday, TSN: 626,000

12. NHL, Flyers at Rangers, Sunday, TSN: 614,000

13. NBA, Nets at Raptors, Tuesday, TSN: 610,000

14. MLB, Blue Jays at Indians, Sunday, Sportsnet: 570,000

15. NBA, Nets at Raptors, Saturday, TSN: 539,000

16. MLB, Blue Jays at Indians, Friday, Sportsnet: 469,000

17. Curling, Players' Championship men's final, Sunday, Sportsnet: 469,000

18. MLB, Blue Jays at Indians, Saturday, Sportsnet: 389,000

19. Curling, Players' Championship round robin, Friday, Sportsnet: 371,000

20. Curling, Players' Championship semifinals, Saturday, Sportsnet: 340,000

21. Curling, Players' Championship women's final, Sunday, Sportsnet: 320,000

22. Curling, Players' Championship men's quarterfinals, Saturday, Sportsnet: 318,000

23. Curling, Players' Championship morning round robin, Friday, Sportsnet: 225,000

24. PGA, RBC Heritage, third round, Saturday, Global: 194,000

25. PGA, RBC Heritage, final round, Sunday, Global: 193,000

THREE TO WATCH

Just for kicks: There's just never enough soccer to go around for fans of the world game. With the Champions League nearing a conclusion, the first leg of the UEFA Europa League semifinals kick off on Thursday with Benfica playing Juventus (3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet) and Sevilla meeting Valencia (3 p.m., Sportsnet World).

Old-time hockey: There have been some compelling series in the early going of the NHL playoffs, but the one most Canadians are intrigued by now is the Detroit-Boston matchup. Not just because it's an Original Six showdown, but because there's a good chance that Montreal Canadiens will meet the Bruins in the next round. Game 4 goes Thursday, 8 p.m. ET, TSN.

Hoop dreams: The surprising Toronto Raptors get a big chance to show that they aren't just some underdog that looked as if it was aiming for the first draft pick and somehow found itself in the playoffs. They sort of looked that way in Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets, but fared much better in winning Game 2. The rubber game is Friday (7 p.m. ET, TSN) and it will be interesting to see how the Raptors fare in a city where they don't flood the court with confetti to celebrate one playoff victory.