2015 Stanley Cup: At Peak, More Than 3 Million In Chicago Watched Blackhawks' Victory

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Just around the time that Patrick Kane drilled his one-timer past Ben Bishop on Monday night, effectively ensuring another Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks, a whopping 3.3 million viewers were watching in Chicago.

That number represents the peak viewership during the final minutes of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final (70 percent of televisions in use were dialed into the game at that point), according to Nielsen ratings released overnight.

One might wonder what the other 30 percent were watching, but clearly, as the Chicago Blackhawks collect more Stanley Cups, the fans are jumping on board.

Overall, the game delivered a 41 rating and 57 share. That means, on average, 2.6 million viewers were watching between 7:15 p.m. and 10 p.m. and close to 60 percent of the televisions that were being used in Chicago were tuned to the game.

By comparison, in Tampa, the game posted a 15.8 rating and 24 share, meaning that about 290,000 viewers were watching.

Nationally, Buffalo -- Kane's hometown -- posted the third-best numbers, with a 10.3 rating (63,000 viewers) and a 17 share.

Chicago's ratings were an impressive 33 percent increase from the 2013 Game 6 clincher in Boston and up 23 percent from the Blackhawks' 2010 Stanley Cup win in Philadelphia.

Monday night's numbers aren't quite in the same league as the Super Bowl in Chicago but are still remarkable, considering the Super Bowl, on a Sunday night, has become a national TV watching requirement, regardless of who's playing.

In fact, the peak numbers for the Blackhawks last night are comparable to the average rating for the 2007 Super Bowl.

The Bears' loss to the Indianapolis Colts delivered a 50.2 rating (3.9 million viewers) and 77 share.