Fans on their way back to TD Garden
Baker opens doors for limited capacity
For the first time in nearly a year, the Bruins will be playing in front of some actual fans on Friday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers when the state of New York lifts its full ban and allows a small percentage of paying customers inside the building.
And the B’s learned on Thursday that they will soon be seeing a few more friendly faces at the Garden after Gov. Charlie Baker announced that 12% of stadium capacity will be allowed to attend sporting events starting on March 22.
The Bruins next home game with fans in attendance will be March 23 against the Islanders with 2,108 fans allowed in the building.
Friday’s game at MSG will be the first time the B’s play in front of fans since March 10, 2020 in Philadelphia. When the B’s face the Isles on March 23, it will be the first time Bruins’ fans will be in the building since March 7, 2020 when they played the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“That’s the first time I’m hearing it. That’s pretty exciting,” said Connor Clifton on Thursday morning. “It’s been a while, but we’re obviously excited to get back to TD Garden and play in front of the Bruins fans. It’s obviously a big part of the NHL, the atmosphere.”
Just who will be eligible to buy tickets will be released in the coming days, according to a Bruins release. Those who do make it into the building will have to follow various protocols, most of which have become de rigueur, such as mask-wearing, social distancing, etc. There will also be touch-free amenities through the TD Garden Hub app through which patrons can order food and drinks and then pick up the order at a contact-free location in the building, pod seating and socially distanced exiting.
“An incredible amount of work and collaboration has taken place over the past year in preparation for the return of fans to TD Garden,” said team president Cam Neely ina statement. “The processes and protocols that have been put in place are structured to ensure the safety, well-being and enjoyment of our fans. We are beyond excited to welcome back the best fans in hockey to TD Garden as their energy and enthusiasm have been greatly missed.”
Coach Bruce Cassidy, like everyone else, is looking forward to getting fans back in the buildings. But he was curious to see what effect having just a smidgen of the capacity will have on the overall game atmosphere.
“I don’t know if it will be better or not,” said Cassidy. “When the building is empty, you come to accept that it’s empty. There’s some staff in there. Now you sprinkle a few people in. Will it be more weird because you’re used to a full building? I don’t know how that will be. What will the noise be like? Will they still be piping stuff in or will they allow that 1,800 or 2,000 fans to create their own energetic environment? It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Where are they going to seat them? I’m assuming they have to spread them out. There’s a bit of an unknown to be honest with you. We’ll see. I don’t know if it will help New York or not. Usually the home crowd energizes you, but that’s with 18,000 people.” But it is a step forward. “There’s something about the human spirit, the human emotion that you can’t repli
cate,” said Islanders coach Barry Trotz. “It’s pure joy, it’s pure anger, it’s pure everything. It’s fellowship. It’s the event. It’s the buzz. There’s nothing that can replicate that.”
Clifton finds a comfort level
Clifton’s entry into the Bruins’ lineup this year has usually been on the left side — his weak side — because of injuries. On Thursday night, the righty defenseman was expected to finally be able to play on his strong side.
“It’s nice. It is,” said Clifton, who was paired with John Moore. “Obviously in Tahoe, I was supposed to play on the right but (Jeremy Lauzon) went down pretty early on, so I ended up going back and forth, and that was new, too. But it’s good to get reps on the right side. I thought in the last game it was a little easier (on the left). Playing all those games I was kind of building experience. But it’s just easier on your strong side.”
Clifton had practiced throughout training camp and much of the season with Moore as his partner and feels the pair has some chemistry.
“You build that in practice. I think we complement each other well, as long as we’re both moving our feet and making plays together,” said Clifton.
Odds and ends
After going 0-2 in the first two games this year at Nassau Coliseum, Cassidy is going with Jaroslav Halak in net on Thursday “to mix it up.” Tuukka Rask will play Friday at MSG and most likely in Game 2 of the Rangers series on Sunday afternoon. …
With COVID postponements and built-in time off surrounding the Tahoe game, the B’s have had a relatively light schedule. That’s about to change. They will have just two more two-day breaks in between games for the rest of the season.
“What it does is we’ll be in playoff mode and we will be four, five months — March, April, May, June, July, for the teams that make it,” said Cassidy. “You may catch a break in there if you make the playoffs and eliminate (an opponent quickly), but I think that’s the way it’s going to be. And it will be difficult. Our players have not voiced (concerns about fatigue) yet, simply because we haven’t lived it. But we will.”