The Battle of Ontario in Toronto, and viewers single out Carter Yakemchuk
Ottawa's visit to the Maple Leafs led a Saturday when every Sportsnet game reel ran well ahead, and its comments became a running conversation about goaltenders.
SPORTSNETStory of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 240,984 views a day, 12 times a normal first day on this channel (19,455).
NHL Highlights | Senators vs. Maple Leafs - October 3, 2026
Sportsnet's reel from Ottawa's visit to Toronto passed a quarter of a million views in about a day. A new video on the channel usually draws closer to 20,000 on its first day.
It was not alone. Every reel from Saturday's slate traveled far beyond the usual, from the Canadiens in Pittsburgh, the closest behind, to Kings-Sharks, Bruins-Wild and Flames-Canucks out west. Sunday's Jets game in Detroit is moving at a similar pace. Senators at Maple Leafs still finished clearly in front.
The matchup helps explain it. Ottawa against Toronto has carried the name the Battle of Ontario for decades, and a game between the two lands in a lot of Canadian living rooms at once. The reel's comment section filled up about nine times faster than a usual first day, and it reads mostly like an Ottawa crowd. Several Senators supporters describe it as the team's first game of the season and point out that it came on the road.
One name keeps coming up for Ottawa: Carter Yakemchuk, the young defenseman viewers say looked sharp on the blue line. Others call it a goalie duel and praise the Senators' goaltender. On the Toronto side, a long thread follows the Leafs goalie that commenters call Bob and his move from Florida, with some saying the score would have been much worse without his saves. Another joke puts Auston Matthews level on goals with Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers goaltender.
The most liked comment is a complaint about the reel itself: viewers want the end screen promotions held until the highlights finish, because they give away whether a late goal is coming. Another popular one is about the video playing in 720p.
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What viewers say
Carter Yakemchuk looked really good out there for the Senators, GG OTT
@2BCProductions2BCSee it on YouTubecrazy goalie duel
@NarkogurioSee it on YouTubeSolid game by Ottawa, they kept in there and ground this one out.
@bmacflea1089See it on YouTube
Public comments from the video's page on YouTube
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- Channel
- SPORTSNET
- Subscribers
- 1,270,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 7,352,095
- Channel views, pace per day
- 869,755 (on a normal day: 877,527)
- Video published
- October 4, 2026
- Video views so far
- 260,015 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 255,204
The numbers
One Ontario matchup left a strong night of hockey reels behind it, and the comment count rose even faster than the views.
💡 Test your knowledge
In which year did the Toronto Maple Leafs last win the Stanley Cup?
Toronto beat the Montreal Canadiens in the 1967 Final, the last season before the NHL expanded beyond six teams.
