NHL ratings in the Conference Finals may be a cause for concern.

The National Hockey League's Return to Play initiative has been a huge success thus far but things may be hitting a pretty significant bump in the road. 

According to a recent report from Sports Media Watch, the NHL's ratings for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final this week were abysmal. In fact the rating for the game between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars was the least watched Game 3 of a Western Conference Final in 9 years, dating back all the way to 2011 when the Vancouver Canucks faced off against the San Jose Sharks. 

Now before anyone panics here there are a number of factors that no doubt contributed to the poor ratings for the NHL. The league was up against both the National Football League, which aired its very first game of the season, as well as the National Basketball Association which broadcasted its own playoff games. Both those games no doubt pulled some eyeballs away from the NHL, but I do think there are other factors to consider as well. Hockey fans are simply not conditioned to consuming playoff hockey at this time of year and with many of the NHL's big market teams already eliminated from contention I suspect there is a certain amount of apathy from some fans.

The 790,000 average viewers that tuned into Game 3 represented a 43% drop off from last year's Game 3 between the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks, although it has to be said that last year's game ran unopposed by any other sporting event.

All that being said it would be unfair to suggest that the NFL and the NBA were the only contributing factors given that Game 2, which took place on Tuesday, also saw a significant drop in viewership when compared to the previous year. Game 2 between the Stars and Golden Knights had 887,000 average viewers and that represents a 36% drop off from the previous Game 2 Between the Sharks and Blues.

The Eastern Conference has experienced a similar trend with Game 1 representing a 54% decrease in viewership and Game 2 representing a 50% decrease in viewership. Last year's Eastern Conference Final featured the Boston Bruins, one of the NHL's original six teams, and I suspect that played a big role in the drop in viewership here. 

How do you guys see this one? Are people less excited about the Stanley Cup playoffs this year? Is the fact that they come at such an odd time playing a factor? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.