Cup Finals ratings off to best start in seven years

NEW YORK -- Television ratings for the Stanley Cup Finals are off to their best start since 2002.

NBC said Tuesday that Games 1 and 2 averaged a 2.8 rating and 5 share. That's up 17 percent from last year, when the first games on the network were Games 3 and 4. Versus showed Games 1 and 2 in 2008; the cable channel is broadcasting Games 3 and 4 this year.

The ratings were the highest for the first two games on NBC or ABC since 2002, when the Detroit-Carolina series averaged a 3.4/7.

•  Stanley Cup Finals

Detroit beat Pittsburgh on Saturday and Sunday.

The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with TVs. The share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.