The National Hockey League single-season attendance record was broken Monday with 18 games to spare, the league announced Tuesday.
A total of 22,560,634 fans have watched games in the regular season through Monday, filling arenas at 97 percent capacity, the NHL said. The previous mark was 22,436,532 set in 2022-23.
The league has included 32 teams for three seasons with the addition of the Seattle Kraken. Games have been played this season in the 32 home arenas as well as Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton; Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden; T-Mobile Park in Seattle; and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
A highlight included 79,690 in attendance — the third-largest crowd in NHL history — on Feb. 18 for the New York Rangers’ 6-5 overtime win over the rival New York Islanders outdoors at MetLife Stadium.
The schedule still has eight games on Tuesday, four on Wednesday and six on Thursday to conclude the regular season.
