I recently attended my second NHL game ever with my mom and sister. While I would willingly trade a limb to go to another home game of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it turns out I didn’t need to. My mom got tickets for her, my little sister and I to a game where the Montreal Canadiens faced off against the Ottawa Senators. Never in my life would I have pictured myself saying – or typing – that I enjoyed a game where two teams that I don’t particularly like faced off against each other. This game does not change my hard stance on being a Leafs fan, but there were certain players on both the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators that I was excited to see.
The first was Connor Brown. He’s a former Toronto Maple Leaf and while I wasn’t thrilled that he was traded to Ottawa, I was so happy to see that he was a good fit for the team. Brown was often overshadowed by the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander during his time with the Leafs, so now it’s his time to shine. I had refused to wear a Montreal Canadiens jersey (even if Carey Price is a good goalie) or anything with the Senators logo, so I opted for my game-worn Toronto Marlies hoodie that was worn by none other than Connor Brown himself. I was always a Brown fan, so I was glad that I got to reflect that with a sweater that advertised that I was a Toronto fan.
As a team Canada fan, I was pretty hyped to see Carey Price in action live and in person. There’s no denying that he’s good at what he does and as a fan of the game of hockey, I appreciate his skill and talent. Just not when it’s against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Watching Price four rows from ice level was a bit hypnotizing. Based on where I was sitting, it was a little difficult to watch him up close during the first and third period, but oh boy was the second period fun. Frederick Andersen may be my all-time favourite goalie because he’s precious and I would protect him with my life, but Carey Price is a national treasure and a genuinely good guy. Price made some great saves throughout the game and even earned himself a penalty by inserting himself into a scuffle in front of his net. I know I was the only one encouraging it, between me, my sister and my mom. What can I say, I didn’t care who won the game, but if I could watch fights – specifically ones where Carey Price gets involved – I am in the game.
Speaking of fights, nobody seemed to want to grant my wish of finding a new favourite player who likes fighting more than Brady Tkachuk. I may not be a fan of the Ottawa Senators, but after that game, I am most definitely a fan of Brady Tkachuk. I’m a fan of Kasperi Kapanen (of the Toronto Maple Leafs) because he is feisty. Brady Tkachuk looked like he was ready to take on the entire roster of the Montreal Canadiens and I was totally going to support that. He seemed like he had placed a very specific target on Nick Cousins and that is totally okay. I was there to support him throwing punches. I also got a souvenir drink cup with Tkachuk’s face on it and that was pretty cool since I have a souvenir cup from every home game I’ve been to (two from the Marlies). While Tkachuk didn’t come away with any points, he did manage to get 19 penalty minutes before finally getting kicked out of the game with a game misconduct.
The final player I was super stoked to see live was Max Domi. It’s not hard to see that my mom’s favourite player is Tie Domi. She has his jersey so I thought it was cool that she got to see her favourite player’s son play. I was curious to see what he was like as a player and I was not disappointed. He racked up two goals against the Senators in the first period. Domi is also a feisty player, so he went into my category of hockey players that I would definitely want to befriend and cheer for every time a fight goes down during a hockey game.
I may not be a fan of either the Montreal Canadiens or the Ottawa Senators, but I was intrigued by the fact that there were more Montreal fans at the Canadian Tire Centre than Ottawa. I’ve witnessed the same thing when the Belleville Senators host the Toronto Marlies. I know that Ottawa has fans, but there was a discussion about them potentially relocating and I will say that their arena is in a bit of an odd location. It’s not centrally located in downtown Ottawa as the Leafs have with the Scotiabank Arena where public transit is more accessible. I don’t know about other rinks within the NHL because I haven’t been there personally, but I would say that there's also more to do at Scotiabank Arena because of what’s around. There’s an area for fans to watch the game outside of the rink.
Montreal fans were definitely competing with the Senators fans for who was louder throughout the game. I was sat between two people in Habs jerseys (my sister who is actually a fan, and my mom who wore the jersey because my sister asked) in my Marlies sweater so technically I was in enemy territory. I found myself cheering for individuals rather than a specific team.
Overall, it was fun to watch the rivalry between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens. I was thrilled to see Connor Brown have a few good scoring opportunities, Maxi Domi scored twice, Brady Tkachuk attempt to fight everyone, and eventually, Carey Price pulling off the shutout with the Canadiens winning 3-0. While neither team is one that I’d want to support on a regular basis, it was entertaining to attend a game where the Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t playing. I think it’s important as a fan of the sport of hockey and as someone who wants to go into sports to attends games where I don’t have a specific team to cheer for.
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