NEW YORK CITY — It’s a tour of home-openers for the Utah Hockey Club.
After beating Chicago in its own home-opener Tuesday at the Delta Center and winning in overtime in the Islanders’ home-opener on Thursday, Utah will face the New York Rangers at “The world’s most famous arena,” Madison Square Garden.
“This is one of my favorite buildings to play in,” said Utah HC captain Clayton Keller. “The atmosphere will be crazy, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Quick facts about Madison Square Garden
- It has a seating capacity of 18,006 for hockey.
- It’s the oldest arena in the NHL.
- It’s the only NHL arena that’s not named after a sponsor.
- The current Madison Square Garden is the fourth building with that name.
- The original MSG was created by PT Barnum for his circus.
- It’s home to the Rangers and the Knicks, but it also hosts concerts, fights and more.
New York City is buzzing
The game doesn’t start until 7 p.m. in New York, but there were fans waiting outside the arena — decked out in Rangers gear — at 11:30 a.m.
Like the Delta Center, every seat at Madison Square Garden is adorned with a T-shirt for the home opener. Unlike Utah HC’s shirts, though, these don’t say “inaugural game.” That was in 1926. (New York is one of the “Original Six” NHL teams.)
According to VividSeats, this game has the fourth-highest average ticket price of any NHL game this year at $268. The Rangers are the second-most demanded team this year, while Utah HC is the sixth.
Forbes values the Rangers at $2.65 billion, second only to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“The crowd is always into it. It’s super loud,” Keller said.
Utah HC’s game plan
It’s a big game, but Utah HC head coach André Tourigny doesn’t think the extra hype affects his team much.
“When you’re on the road, I don’t think it’s the same thing,” he said after practice on Friday. “I don’t think we felt any extra nerves yesterday (against the Islanders).”
To the dismay of fans and beat writers alike, Liam “Spicy Tuna” O’Brien is a healthy scratch and will not play in the game. It would have been his first time sharing the ice with Rangers tough guy Matt Rempe, who is expected to play.
Rempe is only 17 games into his NHL career, but he has fought 12 times. The Rangers visit Utah on Jan. 16, so maybe those two will get the chance to dance then.
Utah’s lineup will stay the same as it was on Thursday, including Connor Ingram getting the start in net.