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Devoted fans make their own mark with crazy rituals

Jerry Lai / USA Today

True home-ice advantage in hockey begins and ends with the fans, who turn cavernous arenas of metal and concrete into living, breathing, cheering entities with distinct personalities.

Each fanbase is enthralled by its own traditions and rituals, which help strengthen a sense of unity with the team. Everything from the national anthem to the postgame celebration takes on a different tone depending on where the contest is played.

Here are some unique and interesting rituals fans are performing to will their respective franchises to postseason glory:

Chicago Blackhawks: The Madhouse Anthem

The United Center is known as the Madhouse on Madison for many reasons, but the best example of the power of the Chicago Blackhawks' intimidating home barn can be seen (or heard) before the game begins.

Blackhawks fans attempt to drown out the national anthem at every playoff home game by screaming, cheering and clapping as loud as they can. It's a tradition that began in 1985 and continues to shake the foundations of Chicago's Near West Side.

New York Rangers: The Blue Seats

The cheapest seats at Madison Square Garden are now the most revered by New York Rangers fans.

The blue seats in the pre-renovated Garden were populated by the most blue collar of Rangers fans, who would heckle not only the opposing team, but also fans in more expensive seats. The blue seats were the source of some of the Rangers most colorful fan chants, even after they were repainted teal in the 1990s.

Blue seats were restored at one end of the ice following the Garden's most recent renovation and remain the cheapest seats in the arena, where the true fans who bleed blue can be found.

Calgary Flames: The Red Mile

Fans of the Calgary Flames began congregating on a stretch of 17th Avenue during their run to the 2004 Stanley Cup final, leading to one of the craziest street parties outside of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

The strip of bars became known as the Red Mile, attracting up to 55,000 fans during the height of Calgary's playoff run. Despite the large crowds mixed with the Flames' ultimate defeat in Game 7 of the Cup final, the Red Mile never descended into violence, maintaining a jovial atmosphere.

Police attempted to limit celebrations on the Red Mile during the 2006 playoffs, but the cost of enforcing minor infractions on the strip was prohibitive and Flames fans still showed up in droves.

An estimated 10,000-12,000 fans celebrated on the Red Mile after Calgary eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in the opening round of the 2015 playoffs.

Washington Capitals: Unleash the Fury

Unleash the fury - a quote from Tom Green in the raunchy teen comedy "Road Trip," and the rallying cry of the Washington Capitals faithful.

Most teams have film montages to energize the crowd in the third period, but few provoke the same kind of rabid devotion as Washington's. Fan noise slowly builds throughout the video (which also features clips from "Network," "Varsity Blues," "Animal House" and many other films) before every fan in attendance joins Green to shout his final plea to "unleash the fury!"

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