EAST RUTHERFORD | The National Hockey League hit a home run by heading to MetLife Stadium for two outdoor games this weekend.
Firstly, the weather in New York this time of year is generally perfect for this type of event. Not too cold to be uncomfortable. Not too hot to cause serious problems to the ice cream.
Conclusion of the races: a perfect weekend that went without any noticeable problems.
Even the traffic around the stadium remained fine, which is saying something since a total of almost 150,000 people gathered there for the two games.
genius
The genius of this decision is that we have proposed two meetings between lifelong rivals.
The Rangers and Islanders have hated each other for over 50 years. The former are dancing at the top of the Metropolitan group, the latter are fighting for a place in the playoffs. A perfect cocktail.
The Devils are geographically closer to Manhattan than to Philadelphia, but southern New Jersey is to Philadelphia what the South Shore is to Montreal, with only a river separating them. Therefore, the Devils and the Flyers are strong rivals, especially since there are only 90 minutes between Philly and Newark, where the Devils play.
And if that wasn't enough, the Flyers are just ahead of the Devils in the Metropolitan Division standings, setting the stage for a hard-fought game.
Getty Images via AFP
the atmosphere
If the atmosphere was good at the game between the Flyers and the Devils on Saturday evening, it was even better at the game between the Rangers and the Islanders on Sunday afternoon.
It was sunny, the grills were on full blast, the fans were having fun.
In fact, the best part was seeing the tons of jerseys from both teams mixed up. The fans drank and ate together. There were numerous pocket games in the colors of both teams and some even came with their motorhome or caravan to spend the weekend.
My thoughts when I got off the bus when I arrived at the stadium? “It smells like camping.” It reminded me of my Westfalia sleeping warm while waiting for spring to return.
The atmosphere was warm and family friendly, some supporters even offered me a beer. But I was working and it was a bit early. And all the while we could hear fire engines, but don't panic, they were walking children on the streets around the parking lots.
And if…
All of this means that we started dreaming about seeing a game like this in Montreal. Because even though we are far away, the players are small and it is difficult to read the names and numbers, there is something magical about these away games.
When Patrick Roy himself takes the time to say that this is what he would have liked to have experienced as a player, it says it all. For our part, we say that playing away would be a good way to breathe new energy into the All-Star Game.
As for Montreal, Gary Bettman claims that there is no suitable place for such a meeting, and unfortunately we have to agree with him.
Both Saputo Stadium and Percival Molson Stadium are not eligible for a winter meet for various reasons. And even if it were possible, we would hardly be able to welcome more spectators than the Bell Center for a more logistically complex meeting. Financially it doesn't work.
But we keep dreaming, imagining the image we would have of a game between the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs at Percival Molson Stadium at the foot of Mount Royal, with a little snow falling and the child in us fuming with stars finds his eyes again.