2023 Winter Classic most-watched regular-season game on U.S. cable TV

The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic did not just hit a home run at Fenway Park, it hit it out of the park in the United States.

The outdoor game between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, broadcast in the United States on TNT, was the most-watched NHL regular-season game of all-time on cable television.

The game, a 2-1 win by the Bruins before a sellout crowd of 39,243, averaged 1.8 million viewers on TNT, up 31 percent from the 2022 Winter Classic between the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues at Target Field in Minneapolis (1.4 million viewers).

TNT's audience peaked with 2.1 million viewers from 5-5:15 p.m. ET, when the Bruins scored twice in the third period to win the game.

RELATED: [2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic coverage]

In addition to the game, the 2023 Winter Classic featured pregame festivities, including Bruins legend Bobby Orr and Boston Red Sox great Jason Varitek participating in the ceremonial puck drop.

Grammy-award winning band The Black Keys performed during the first intermission, Boston-based R&B act Bell Biv DeVoe sang "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the Boston Pops Orchestra was the house band.

The 2023 Winter Classic was the 14th version of the game. The first was played on Jan. 1, 2008, at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, a 2-1 shootout win by the Penguins against the Buffalo Sabres. The 2010 Winter Classic was also played in Fenway Park, where the Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime on New Year's Day.

The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Washington Capitals in the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Feb. 18.

The NHL announced on Monday that the 2024 Winter Classic will feature the Seattle Kraken against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.