Habs embrace Madison Square Garden atmosphere
Pacioretty and Canadiens enjoying playoff atmosphere at Madison Square Garden
“Welcome to Madison Square Garden ... the world’s most famous arena!”
That’s how the public-address announcer welcomed fans before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final series between the Canadiens and New York Rangers Sunday night. There’s no doubt MSG is a special, historic arena and a unique place to watch a hockey game.
Where else can you still hear a derisive chant about a player who retired 29 years ago? Sure enough, the “Potvin sucks!” chant was started a few times from the upper deck during the Canadiens’ 3-1 win over the Rangers Sunday night.
The Canadiens lead the bestof-seven series 2-1 heading into Game 4 Tuesday night at MSG (7 p.m., CBC, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690).
The “Potvin sucks!” chant is directed at former New York Islanders captain and hall of famer Denis Potvin, who retired following the 1987-88 season. The chant started after Potvin put what turned out to be a career-ending hit on the Rangers’ Ulf Nilsson during a game on Feb. 25, 1979. Many Rangers fans who have kept the chant alive surely weren’t even born when Potvin retired.
Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty grew up in Connecticut as a Rangers fan and used to go to games at MSG as a kid. He was born a few months after Potvin retired.
“I remember everything about (the chant) and the whistling,” Pacioretty recalled Monday after the Canadiens cancelled a scheduled practice at MSG. “Did they say it last game?”
Yes, they did.
“I didn’t see Dancing Larry, though,” Pacioretty said with a smile.
Dancing Larry is a bald Rangers fan who fires up other fans at MSG with his moves while Strike it Up by Black Box blares over the speakers.
When asked what his favourite childhood memory of MSG is, Pacioretty didn’t hesitate to answer: “Dancing Larry … always Dancing Larry."
Dancing Larry hasn’t had much to dance about this season when the Canadiens come to town. The Canadiens beat the Rangers both times they met at MSG during the regular season and the Blueshirts have now lost their last six home playoff games.
The Canadiens were able to pretty much take the crowd out of Game 3 despite some prompting from tennis legend John McEnroe to fire the fans up on the giant screen. There was one fan in the upper deck who started chanting “USA! USA!” during the second intermission, probably unaware the Canadiens captain is American.
The Rangers were the best road team in the NHL during the regular season with a 27-12-2 record, but surprisingly were only 21-16-4 at home.
“They have great support from their crowd,” Pacioretty said. “Our job is to try and limit that as much as possible and we saw that in the first game here. It’s our job to make sure we try to keep the crowd out of it because it could be a huge momentum swing, especially in the playoffs.”
Pacioretty played for the first time at MSG when he was an 11-year-old in the Junior Rangers program and his team hit the ice for a game before the Rangers played in preparation for the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament.
“It was always special,” Pacioretty said. “We did it two years in a row. It’s weird, I guess, that it was before I was professional, especially in a building like this. But it was a lot of fun. The first year I played up a year with the ’87s (players born in 1987). I don’t know if I even got one or two shifts. It was more of an experience, and then the next year it was a different story.”
MSG has had major renovations since Pacioretty was young, but it’s still a New York landmark.
“Coming here as a kid … the whole experience of taking the train in, sometimes taking the subway in ... the whole experience of being in Manhattan to see a hockey game or a concert, it meant a lot to me growing up,” Pacioretty said. “So it’s cool to be able to play in this place.”
Canadiens defenceman Jordie Benn grew up in Victoria, but used the word “awesome” to describe playing at MSG.
“It’s a great buzz here,” he said. “Obviously, this arena is pretty famous and it’s nice to be in New York and playing hockey.”
Plus, there is plenty for a hockey player to do in New York City during their spare time.
“Not during playoff time,” Benn said with a smile beneath his bushy beard. “It’s a fun city to be in. There’s a lot to do, but right now we’re just going to head back (to the hotel) and rest up for tomorrow.”
Dancing Larry and Rangers fans should be well rested after the Blueshirts’ poor performance in Game 3.
They’ll be looking to change that in Game 4 Tuesday night.
It should be fun.
It’s our job to make sure we try to keep the crowd out of it because it could be a huge momentum swing, especially in the playoffs.