Home-ice advantage certainly looks a lot more normal this year than it did in 2020.
NHL teams played in bubble cities during the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no fans in attendance, and teams even began their seasons this year with little to no crowds.
The games, while of course still competitive, just didn't feel the same without tens of thousands of fans cheering on their team -- especially on the biggest stage.
This year, though, is different, as buildings are operating at near-full capacity for the second round. TD Garden was loud as ever during Games 1 and 2 of the Boston Bruins' series against the New York Islanders, while Nassau Coliseum was rocking Thursday night despite the B's taking a 2-1 series lead.
Brad Marchand, who scored the game-winner for the B's in overtime, expressed the importance of having fans back in the building and feeding off their energy during the games, even if they are the visiting team.
"We're excited to have fans back in the building. It doesn't matter if you're at home or if you're on the road. It's an exciting time to play," he said over Zoom. "… They were loud tonight, I'll give them credit. They were loud. Our building was loud too. But it's just fun to be in front of people again. You guys all know we've been through a lot the past year, and we're excited to get back to normalcy. It's amazing having the crowd back in it.
"It's really what makes playoffs the playoffs. When you're at home, the momentum swings you get off that and how loud and hard it is to play in another team's building. That's what you get home ice for, that's why home ice matters so much. It's not the same -- you see it in Canada right now -- it's not the same, home ice doesn't matter when you don't have fans in the crowd. So, it's just exciting to be in a building when it is that loud. And we're just having fun."
Canada still has strict guidelines due to the pandemic, and fans have not attended games up north save for a few occasions.
The energy fans give off clearly is important, and we're sure Nassau will be even louder come Saturday when the Islanders look to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination.
