NHL Night: Hockey in the Big Apple

Being in the MSG is the absolutely best way to start any sporting event. We were in the second section, giving us a fantastic view of the entire rink. I had great company (shout out to Bill and Greg!) and as much Miller Lite as a girl could want. One benefit of being a woman at a sporting event is that finally it’s your turn to have extremely short bathroom lines. Am I right, ladies?

I was a little on edge after the ‘excitement’ at the 4 Nations United States-Canada game a week prior. That was important because the anthems were painful. A lovely gentleman first sang the Canadian anthem with an alarming number of boos echoing through the venue. The fervor with which people cheered while the man was during the United States anthem was equally disconcerting.

Besides that, there was an individual who got after me about needing to scoot past them to leave my row. I had much stronger words for her during last week’s Tailgate Update episode. I’ll say here that maybe she was so unnecessarily mean because she kept yelling for the manager of a beer stand and couldn’t find one.

Not my problem, not my business. The zen sound of skates gliding through ice, with sticks hitting pucks, and players checking each other into boards is both quiet and relaxing. It’s hard to stay mad that way.

Game Highlights

Unsurprisingly, I haven’t been keeping up with the NHL or the Toronto Maple Leafs season super closely this year. It was reassuring to see how clean, efficient, and competent they looked out there on the ice. Especially their goalie, Anthony Stolarz, who shined. The same could not be said for the Rangers. They did decide to show up in the second period, but they still had to work harder to do less than Toronto every step of the way. See the second-period summary below for context.

Goals

The Leafs started out the game hot with a point by veteran OEL within the first two minutes of the game. It took the Rangers 12 more minutes of gameplay to get their first, incredibly impressive goal from God’s ear to Mika Zibanejad’s stick.

Toronto snuck a close one in at the beginning of the second period. It was under review for a long period of time since the whistle had been blown before the goal was made. William Nylander got the puck in the goal crease, and the New York Rangers finished business with one player attempting to knock the puck out, and the goalie scoring against himself, escorting the puck in with his glove. Eventually, it was deemed a goal.

Things got cooking in the third period. Will Cuylle tied the game with a beautiful goal he snuck into the corner of the net. He ended up slamming the goal post after scoring and nearly checked it into the wall. However, the Maple Leafs got the last laugh when Matthew Knies squeaked their final goal past Ranger’s goalie Jonny Brodzinski with 13:39 left on the clock.

Penalties

There’s not much to speak of here. I counted eight overall penalties and two tiny disagreements that could have been charitably referred to as fights. There was a little tripping, interference, holding, icing, a tiny push, and cross-checking. I had never seen a ‘too many men’ call during a game, so that felt remarkable when the New York Rangers couldn’t count in the second period. The most rousing penalty would be the rather vicious high-sticking to the head in the last two minutes of the third period. They gave the crowd a little something.

In Conclusion

If you ever get a chance to go to the Big Apple and attend any event at the MSG, you have to do it! If it’s an NHL game, it’s a must. The New York Rangers are inconsistent, so you don’t know what you will get—they won the next two games on March 1st and 2nd with shutouts. The Maple Leafs made me proud with their 3-2 score. Overall, the experience was fantastic, and hopefully I have motivated you to attend an NHL game, no matter where you are. Catch more of my articles here!