CBC and TSN are both hoping the NHL playoffs will play out as a bunch of long, hard-fought series. The Ceeb is airing every first-round match involving a Canadian team, including the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, while TSN is carrying American-only matchups.

"Obviously the longer each series goes it builds more excitement, so that will be a factor," says CBC spokesperson Ruth-Ellen Soles. "[CBC sportscaster] Ron MacLean said [recently] that from every series there are always stories that come out, and that also has a tendency to drive numbers."

Excitement is building slowly, however, according to the 2+ numbers from Nielsen Media Research for the April 21-23 weekend. CBC aired a national double-header on Friday - the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. the Senators - and the Anaheim Ducks vs. the Flames - to between 1.1 million and 1.3 million viewers.

The numbers stayed put when the Carolina Hurricanes played the Canadiens to the tune of 1.1 million on Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada - and nose-dived to 632,000 during a Sunday face-off between the Oilers and the Detroit Red Wings. The Ceeb's numbers rebounded for the Senators and Flames matches. Both games drew roughly 1.5 million.

TSN's coverage peaked at the half-million mark when the Philadelphia Flyers met the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, opposite Hockey Night in Canada.

Both networks saw significant increases in their regular-season hockey numbers during the NHL's 2005/06 campaign after its 2004/05 player lockout. On CBC's Hockey Night in Canada double-header, its weekly 7 p.m. Toronto Maple Leafs games averaged 1.4 million, up 8% over the 2003/04 season, while the 10 p.m. Vancouver Canucks broadcasts averaged 942,000, up 17% over 2003/04.

The 69 regular-season match-ups on TSN delivered an average of 476,000 viewers, an increase of 48% over 2003/04.

Still on the hockey front, CBC generated 638,000 viewers on April 19 with the season finale of the fifth estate, which featured a one-hour story about former NHLer Mike Danton, who plotted the murder of his agent, only to wind up in a U.S. federal prison.

­-With files from Sean Davidson