Winter Classic drew most viewers since 1975

NEW YORK — The Winter Classic drew the biggest television audience for a regular-season NHL game in nearly 34 years.

The Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day attracted an average of 4.4 million U.S. viewers on NBC, the network said Monday.

That's the most since a Philadelphia-New York Rangers game on Feb. 23, 1975, according to Nielsen Media Research.

RED WINGS 5, STARS 4 (OT): At Dallas, Trevor Daley knocked his own rebound into the goal 1:51 into overtime to end the Red Wings' six-game winning streak.

In a flurry of activity in front of Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, Daley took a shot that got knocked down but was still on the ice when he followed up for his fourth goal of the season.

LIGHTNING 3, KINGS 1: At Los Angeles, Evgeny Artyukhin and Mark Recchi scored 41 seconds apart late in the first period, Vincent Lecavalier also had a goal for Tampa Bay. Mike Smith made 29 saves, helping lead the Lightning to their third win in four games and improving his career record against the Kings to 5-0-0.

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