STANLEY CUP FINALS / NOTES

Dallas fans headed to sports bars or friends’ homes Saturday because of ESPN’s decision to keep the game off local television.

ESPN, which held exclusive rights to Game 6 of the finals, refused an NHL request to make the telecast available to a local station so fans not hooked up to cable could watch.

Only 52% of the homes with televisions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area subscribe to cable, the lowest of any major market in the nation. In Buffalo, 76% of TV homes are wired.

ESPN spokeswoman Diane Lamb said the network has an obligation to its cable operators and subscribers.

The Stars are not happy.

“I sit in these NHL meetings all the time, and all they say is ‘Grow the game,’ ” said Jeff Cogen, the Stars’ vice president of marketing and promotions. “ESPN is taking a very single-minded, myopic view.”