There were three buildings I think people were really looking forward to seeing in these playoffs.
One was Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which was absolutely rocking Sunday, helping the Islanders summon the energy to beat the Capitals 2-1 in overtime -- a scoreline that, frankly, flattered the visitors.
Another was the Saddledome, where the sea of red was on full display in last night’s 4-2 Calgary victory over Vancouver. Afterwards, the Flames gushed about the crowd and how it helped them out.
The third may be the loudest of them all.
Tonight at MTS Centre, the Jets will host the Anaheim Ducks in the first NHL playoff game in Winnipeg since 1996.
There will be noise.
There will be a whiteout.
And the Ducks, leading the Jets 2-0 in their first-round series, know it.
“Just going to try to enjoy it and not focus too much on the crowd,” said Anaheim forward Jakob Silfverberg, per the Winnipeg Free Press. “Hopefully we’ll take the crowd out of the game by scoring early.”
Scoring first was something neither the Caps nor Canucks could manage yesterday. The Isles dominated the first period, outshooting the visitors 16-5 and hitting anything that moved. In similar fashion, it was the Flames’ aggressive forecheck that flummoxed the more experienced Canucks.
Don’t be surprised if the Jets, desperate for a victory, come out just as aggressively as the Isles and Flames did.
“We lean on our crowd an awful lot,” coach Paul Maurice said, per the Canadian Press. “The different dynamic in our building is that the fans are loud and the music isn’t. The other places the fans are sort of loud but the music will blow your ears off.”
By the way, at last glance, the cheapest ticket on StubHub was $382.50.
I'm often asked, loudest building I've been in. That's easy. WPG. 1999 WJC gold medal game, CAN-RUS. Nothing - not CHI, SJ, anywhere - close
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 20, 2015