The Olympic showdown between the U.S. and Canada recorded an average live audience of 18.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock between 8:15-11 a.m. ET. Jack Hughes' overtime winner secured the Americans' first Olympic men's hockey gold since the 1980 'Miracle on Ice.'
Earlier, the U.S. women's team defeated Canada in overtime with 5.3 million average viewers, making it the most-watched women's hockey game on record. Together, these games helped NBC achieve a 26.7 million viewer average on Thursday, the largest Winter Games weekday audience since 2014.