1. I am not expecting much from the team this season, but as I mentioned earlier if I'm paying money I just want to be a cheering fan again, and in that respect this game didn't disappoint. Especially after the 1-0 abomination last year.
2. This, so far as I can tell, was a blatant lie:
At the intermission they fired some blue T-shirts out of a gatling gun (I mean, not a literal one) and their aim was... weird to say the least (set up in front of my corner, then rotated 90 degress and fired them into the first couple of rows at the other end of the stadium. Wha??). But they did not give anything out at the gate and no one seemed to have any of this so-called merch. What gives, Senators?! Maybe the ticket is redeemable in a shop or something, I dunno.
2. I think you guys picked up on TV that there was no sound in the arena until more or less just before puck-drop. The lights were also off when we entered, making me think there was some sort of ceremony about to take place. (And it was a fire alarm or something? I dunno). The starting lineups were only indicated with a graphic on the scoreboard. I have to say, there was something pleasant about it, like waiting for a theatrical production to begin, where there's just the buzz of the crowd and not much else.
3. When the shots were 17-4 it looked like it could get ugly fast, but the Canucks pulled a full-on Vancouver Whitecaps by somehow coming away with a 1-0 lead. It was kind of shocking that they managed to even it out considerably from that point forward – or perhaps even minor score effects?
4. Nilsson was awesome all game. He is an inch shorter than Markström officially but he looked like he covered more space. (This is not a diss on Markström, who I think is often unfairly criticized). Clinical the whole way through.
5. Like last year, there were definitely a notable number of Hutton jerseys in the crowd, as the family and friends were presumably on-hand from nearby Prescott, ON. Curiously, though, no Gudbranson support among the blue jerseys in the crowd – he's a full-on local boy, although I guess he has played here many more times than Hutton. I thought both guys looked pretty good, apart from a few mistakes (including Gudbranson's glaring one that allowed Karlsson to walk in on goal in a rather casual fashion).
6. At one point in the second period, this happened:
Yes, we were asked to "make some noise" for Amazon – who did not have any particular presence at this game, I'd like to point out – to open up Canadian operations here. It was... weird.
7. As usual, I wore my trusty Lumme jersey to the game and, as often happens, got a number of bewildered/amused comments from onlookers, both Vancouver and Ottawa supporters. (People really need to show some more originality in their jersey selections.) There was a
guy in a skate-era Mogilny jersey, which was pretty cool, as well as a mid-'80s yellow skate jersey (post-V, pre-white) worn by a much-too-young-to-have-experienced-that girl, which also deserves accolades. I also applaud the two or three fans in still-orange/gold-not-red/yellow skate jerseys (1989-1992 if you're keeping score), one which I also own and would gladly still rock if it wasn't designed to fit me as a 13-year old.
8. For those of you who listen to the Patcast or read the Provies, you're probably familiar with Botchford and Paterson's recent "Flat JPat on a Stick" meme. Because I am a goof, yes, I made a literal Flat JPat on a Stick and brought it to the game, after snapping a couple of pictures with it in front of Ottawa attractions. This amused them.
9. Vanek slapshot breakaway goal happened down at our end and that was fun as hell.
10. Horvat was, sadly, kind of invisible, and at one point I actually had to look down the bench to see if he was dressed. Like, not for effect. I genuinely wasn't sure.
11. I was surprised that Nilsson was not named first star, just because there is a such a (dumb) mystique around shutouts, but in this case he probably did deserve it. Nice to see all 3 Canucks come out for their star selections – I thought they didn't generally do that on the road, but there were obviously a good number of Canuck fans there, and Boeser provided a puck to some of them during his curtain call.