It goes without saying that hockey is a game that has always attracted a lot of eyes across Canada, and with the increasing freedom to bet on matchups, it is now a sport which gets Canadian bettors reaching for their phones more and more. With Ontario becoming a focal point for the best bookmakers out there, there is no doubt that a great hockey matchup will see keen sports fans potentially betting on the game. Few countries on the planet enjoy hockey quite as much as Canada does, and when a game bursts into life like only this sport can, you can bet that Canadians will tune in to watch.
It’s a matter of fact that hockey is the most watched sport in Canada, but what are the most-watched matches in this sport? Below are a few examples of games which had the nation transfixed, and reminded us all of what we love about this fast and furious sport. And no doubt in the case of one of these encounters, what we don’t like quite as much. Sport can be cruel, and one of the drawbacks of watching live is that you don’t always get the result you want. But then, on the other hand, sometimes you really do. For example…
Canada vs USA, Olympic men’s final, 2010
Winning a Stanley Cup is for many players the pinnacle of their career, but to win the Olympic gold is a step even further than that, especially when it comes with a win over the United States. Even more so when that win comes after a defeat to the same opponent earlier on in the tournament. Plus placing a bet at sportsbooks like Bet365 ontario for results like these can be quite lucrative and when you add in the fact that the winning goal was scored in overtime after a late equalising goal for the opposition, Sidney Crosby’s game-winning strike was a moment that united Canada like nothing else ever could. At 16.6 million viewers, this was the most-watched broadcast in Canadian television history.
Boston Bruins vs Vancouver Canucks, Stanley Cup Game 7, 2011
Just to note that there have been four other games where the national team played which are among the top ten hockey games broadcast across Canada, so this game is famous because it was the most-watched NHL game in Canadian broadcast history. As you can see, it was Game 7 of a Stanley Cup series – one that had swung back and forth, with the Canucks leading 2-0 and 3-2 in the series. The deciding game, which took place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, drew a viewership of 8.68 million on CBC. Unfortunately, they tuned in to see Boston shut the home team out by a score of 4-0, depriving them of their first-ever Stanley Cup win.
Canada vs USA, Olympic women’s final, 2010Turns out, 2010 was a pretty good year not just for Canadian sports broadcasting, but for hockey in the country too. Three days before the men played out a historic final, the neighbours and rivals played each other in the women’s final too. As with both of the above, this game was played out in Vancouver – and it was Canada who emerged triumphant, with a 2-0 win secured by first-period goals from Marie-Philip Poulin as 7.5 million Canadians looked on. Poulin was later rewarded with a selection to the tournament All-Star Team, and would go on to score winning goals in the 2014 Olympics and in 2022, making her pretty close to the ultimate heroine in Canadian hockey history.