TV ratings for finals off to best start since '02

NEW YORK (AP) 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.

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.

Updated June 2, 2009