PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 15: An overall view of the arena is shown prior to the start of this afternoon's game featuring the Philadelphia Flyers against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center on April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
The ice may have not of been the best of conditions, but the Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins made it work yesterday during the exhibition game, “Towards the end of the period, you could start to see the ice was getting a little soft,” Carter Hart said to the media following the game, “The snow was building up pretty quick. That’s something that you can’t control. We’re playing hockey in 30 degree weather outside. Sometimes you are going to have no ideal ice conditions. That’s just the way it is. You’re just have to work through it. Push through it. Just hope that the ice crew does a good job.”
Well said by Carter. The conditions the ice crew, and how warm it is outside are not ideal conditions, but this is what the NHL and other sports are faced with, abnormal conditions with the return of sports, “The ice was ok,” the elite Center Sean Couturier said following the game, “It’s playoff hockey, could be the same as mid May-June.” The ice could be bad for both teams, so there is not an advantage for either team. It’s as fair as it could possibly be.
Was it weird playing with no fans? You would think so, but Couturier doesn’t think it was, “It was different, not a lot of craziness going on. I think it was because it was an exhibition game, not because of no fans.” In his perspective he is out there playing, skating his butt off, tracking the pucks well. On the other hand, for Carter Hart it was a little different, but they will adjust, “No fans. We’re all in this bubble. It’s something that’s different. We’ll adjust. This game was good for us to see what it’s going to be like. I thought we played well tonight.” Hart referenced the black screens as something he has to get used to, maybe because with fans it breaks up the colors so it might be a little easier to focus on the puck with fans present, as opposed to your eyes focusing on the screens naturally.
For Shayne Gostisbehere (Who had a great game), he said the communication with the goalie was easier with no fans present, “I think it was a quick adjustment,” Gostisbehere said, “We’ve been doing scrimmages with no fans obviously. No one there at the rink. Obviously being in a bigger building definitely a little different. You could hear a lot more. Ask Carter, goalie communication was a little easier. It’s definitely a different vibe. I don’t know how it’s going to be when you’re playing real games. You could be more fired up. Obviously, you miss the fans. It is what it is right now.” Well Ghost the fans miss you too.
This is all different for all parties involved. The fans miss the players and the players miss the fans. This is what makes hockey so unique, as opposed to other sports, is the relationship the players have with the fans. Hopefully, sooner rather than later a vaccine is made available for the Coronavirus, so that the players and fans can bond with one another again.
A Sneak Peek of Pictures inside the Lakefront Hotel X:
