DETROIT (AP May 31, 2013) —The NBC Sports Network set a record. It might not stand for very long.

The cable channel had a 2.07 national rating, its highest for an NHL broadcast, with 3,354,000 viewers tuning in to watch Chicago beat Detroit 2-1 in overtime of Game 7 Wednesday night.

Its previous record in seven-plus years of carrying NHL games was a 1.97 rating set on June 2, 2010, when Chicago played Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup finals.

“We live by numbers every day and what this tells us is that the NHL is on a roll in this country,” NBC Sports president of programing Jon Miller said Thursday. “While the lockout was unfortunate, we’re seeing that hockey has some impressive momentum. We’re really excited and encouraged by the continued growth in interest of the game and how people are finding the games on the NBC Sports Network.

“Now, we’re poised for what should be great conference finals.”

The numbers could potentially be even better in June with major markets and big-time teams, which have won the last four Stanley Cups, still playing.