The New York Rangers in a slump? Yep, and they’re not alone in the dip zone. The Chicago Blackhawks are riding the same wobbly wave. Flashback to March—Hawks fans were buzzing (and slightly stressing) when Blackhawks on CHSN dropped a gem on X: “Just a couple first overall draft picks going head-to-head tonight.” The matchup? Connor Bedard of the Hawks vs. Macklin Celebrini of the Sharks. Two young guns, both first-overall picks, both dripping in potential, lighting up the ice with the weight of their franchises on their shoulders. But the main issue? It ain’t about skill—it’s the screen time, or lack thereof.

See, ever since CHSN replaced NBC Sports Chicago, watching the Hawks has been a bit of a scavenger hunt. Fans have been left scrambling, especially those with Comcast/Xfinity, since CHSN just isn’t showing up where it should. Even with new deals through DirecTV and FuboTV, it’s still a rocky ride. And now, with fresh numbers revealing a shocking dip in the New York Rangers’ viewership, it’s clear—this isn’t just a Chicago thing.

So, uh… things aren’t exactly looking pretty on the viewership scoreboard. On April 21, the folks over at Sports Business Journal hopped on X and dropped a little reality check—and yeah, it hit kinda hard. Picture this: two of the NHL’s biggest market squads taking a nosedive when it comes to local eyes on the screen. And they didn’t sugarcoat it either.

They posted, “Two of the three biggest markets in the country saw the steepest declines in NHL local audience. The Blackhawks were down 78% this season on the team’s new RSN while Rangers ratings were down 49% on MSG Networks.” Like… ouch, that’s a spicy stat sandwich.

The local NHL viewership report just dropped, and oof; while a few teams were soaring, others were basically in free fall. The Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks? Yeah, they’re swimming in the good kind of headlines, with viewership jumping 75% and 42% thanks to smart moves like ditching quiet RSNs for louder, more local-friendly networks. Even the Caps rode Ovi’s goal-chasing magic to a sweet 41% bump. Meanwhile, teams like the Avs and Flyers also cashed in on better TV deals and playoff buzz.

But not everyone’s skating on smooth ice—Chicago Blackhawks’ 78% drop was the biggest nosedive, mostly thanks to their rocky switch to CHSN, which still hasn’t hit Comcast homes. The Rangers, Penguins, and Lightning weren’t far behind with major dips of their own. And now, to add to the chaos, even TNT’s got fans raising eyebrows with some news that might shake up how we all tune in next season.

It is not just the New York Rangers’ viewership with the decline news!

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs just rolled in like a wrecking ball with glitter—chaotic, dramatic, and absolutely stacked. That Dallas-Colorado clash? Whew, spicy with a side of backstory, especially with Mikko Rantanen staring down his old squad. Out East, Ovi’s still doing Ovi things, Canadian teams are out for vengeance, and Carolina’s lurking just behind Florida with those serious sneaky-good odds. Drama? Check. Fire matchups? Double check.

But just as fans were grabbing their snacks and jerseys, boom—TNT pulled a full-on faceplant. Their big playoff broadcast plan? Let’s just say it had folks making the same face you make when your team whiffs a wide-open net. Braylon Breeze, the hockey-world’s chaos correspondent, jumped on X on April 19 and let it fly: “A Saturday primetime opening game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is being called remotely from a studio in Atlanta — with odd camera shots and pretty abysmal crowd audio. It’s unacceptable and clearly a bad look for the league, to say the least.” Yup, safe to say the vibes were not vibing.

And real talk, TNT’s been catching strays all season. Back in Feb, Ryan Hana from @WingedWheelPod summed it up perfectly: “You need about a half-dozen different services/subscriptions to watch NHL games, & even then you’re blacked out randomly or there’s some random switch to a different network that you can only access if you answer these riddles three.” He followed it with a gut-puncher: “Best sport in the world and nobody can watch.” That one hit. Sure, TNT did shine when Ovi shattered the goal record—1.3 million viewers strong, their biggest non-Winter Classic crowd ever—but that magic’s starting to feel like a distant memory with the way things are looking now.