Some thoughts from the stands:
1. I have attended every Canucks' visit to Ottawa since 2007 except for the Torts year. And this was definitely the tamest the crowd has been. This is less a commentary on the Senator fans (who are always pretty level-headed, this being Ottawa and all... there's probably not an arena in the league that is less hostile to visiting fans), but on the copious number of Canuck fans who always attend this game. There were still a lot, they were just far quieter than in past years. I had a lot of Canuck fans around me, and I was the only one one who even stood up when we scored. What gives? Generational shift? Apathy?
2. On the topic of the visiting Canuck fans – I couldn't help but notice that probably about a third of the jerseys worn by our fans are counterfeit, and at least 3/4 of those personalized with a player name are clearly not official (in the wrong font, usually), even among retro jerseys. I only note this because among Senator merchandise it is close to 0% unofficial, at least visually. Any theories? Is it the greater connection to underground markets in Asia? Is it just because Ottawa uses a more custom font that fakers are more careful about getting it right? Is there just more Canuck stuff online?
3. One of the very official fan jerseys that is worth mentioning, however, was an Adam Cracknell jersey worn by one woman in the stands. Clearly authentic, women's cut and everything. Adam Cracknell? Has to be a family member, right? Maybe he has family out east?
4. I was also impressed by an older gentleman who already had a Ben Hutton jersey, before realizing that yeah, that's for sure a member of his "posse" from this region.
5. I kept finding myself surprised at the shot clock, and namely the fact that Vancouver was well ahead in shots throughout the entire game, because very few were memorable. I was surprised to read McWTG note that the Canucks had the higher number of scoring chances too, because it definitely didn't feel like it.
6. Can't be mad about Chris Higgins missing the glorious shorthanded one-timer (that happens as often as not), but it was notable that he probably had the second-best missed chance of the game, too, when he had that partial breakaway, cut inside in front of the defenseman, and then... fanned. Obviously still a bit rusty, but encouraging that he's at least getting the chances.
7. Alex Edler was named the third star in the building. Just throwing that out there, because there's a lot of complaining about him here.
