It’s going to be different. It has to be different.
After two plus games where every bounce seemed to go the wrong way, the series now shifts to the friendly confines of the CTC where the beers are cold, the fans are unhinged and the puck sometimes does what its supposed to do.
The Ottawa Senators host the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of their first round series later tonight.
It probably goes without saying but this is a night where Sens fans have to find that extra gear. Time and time again we’ve heard from the players how much of a boost they get from a rowdy home town crowd and tonight has the potential to be unlike anything this group has seen before. They got a taste of “playoff hockey in Ottawa” last year and it was chaos. And that was with half the stadium cheering for the wrong damn team.
Tonight is going to be on another level. Unhinged.
Tyler Kleven has confirmed he’s ready to go. Here’s how they lined up at the morning skate…
Tkachuk-Stützle-Batherson
Greig-Cozens-Giroux
Foegele-Pinto-Amadio
Cousins-Eller-Zetterlund
Sanderson-Matinpalo
Chabot-Spence
Kleven-Crotty
Gilbert-Thomson
Linus Ullmark starts.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:38 PM but they are asking fans to be in their seats by 7:15 PM for the pregame festivities. They’re also slinging $5 beers and $2 hot dogs out front till puck drop so honestly, I’m a little bit torn. The game is on TV, on the radio and on shady internet streaming sites but you can also head down to the CTC and feel the damn thing with the rest of us.
GO SENS GO.