I'm sure the fact that it was a Canadian team hurt the US ratings somewhat, either way the events are silly and should be stopped and only used for all star games or exhibitions.
The bottom line is that they are trying to attract new hockey fans with these outdoor novelty games, but they fail to realize that the part of hockey which makes it great (i.e. the speed and skill) is greatly diminished due to the crappy ice conditions. They might as well have been playing with a Mexican jumping bean.