As was the case with the Saturday games, they were contests (usually at home) of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and after 1970, the Vancouver Canucks.
On March 16, 1966, CTV's coverage of the game between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs was frequently interrupted for news updates on the Gemini 8 space mission, which had run into serious trouble after being successfully launched that morning; when the game ended, CTV joined a simulcast of CBS News coverage in time for the capsule's re-entry and splashdown.
Ironically, CTV affiliate CFCF-TV in Montreal carried some local Canadiens' telecasts starting in the 1975–76 season.
This marked the first time in more than a decade that CBC was not the lone over-the-air network broadcaster of the National Hockey League in Canada.
Their limited access to Canadian-based teams[15] (other than Quebec, whose English-speaking fan base was quite small) translated into poor ratings.
The rights to the Calgary-Winnipeg series were eventually sold to the CTV affiliates in Calgary (CFCN) and Winnipeg (CKY) as well as Carling O'Keefe.
Because CTV did not have 100% penetration in Canada at this time, they asked CBC (who ultimately refused) to allow whatever one of their affiliates was the sole network in that market to show the playoffs.
In 1974, some CTV affiliates (like CFTO in Toronto and CFCF in Montreal) picked up the American feed from NBC (with Tim Ryan and Ted Lindsay on the call) of Game 4 of the Montreal–New York Rangers playoff series.
Therefore, a special on-air talent was utilized; Bob Cole, Ron Reusch, and Dick Irvin Jr. called the game while Dan Matheson and Brian McFarlane hosted the telecast together on CTV.
The new network gained credibility before it went on the air, wrestling the NHL Canadian cable package away from long-time holder TSN.
From 1998–99 until 2001–02, Sportsnet aired Labatt Blue Tuesday Night Hockey to a national audience throughout the regular season, and covered first-round playoff series not involving Canadian teams.
On the day CTV Sportsnet went on the air, its first live sports event was an NHL opening-night telecast between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.
CTV did, however, buy out the previous theme to CBC's Hockey Night in Canada for use in TSN's broadcasts immediately after the 2007–08 NHL season.