Attendance low in Ottawa for Game 1
Quality of fans over quantity might be what the Ottawa Senators are going for in the second round of the playoffs.
That is, because despite a roaring crowd that saw the team prevail 2-1 over the New York Rangers thanks to a wild Erik Karlsson winner, the Canadian Tire Centre was surprisingly under-filled with an announced attendance of just 16,744, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
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With the arena boasting a capacity of 18,572 the number means there were nearly 2,000 empty seats for Game 1.
Oddly, 16,744 was the Senators average attendance during the regular season, accounting for 87.4 percent capacity, ranking 21st among all 30 NHL clubs.
The number is further interesting since all three home games in the opening round against the Boston Bruins saw attendance figures over capacity with an average of 18,846.
| Game # | Attendance |
|---|---|
| 1 | 18 702 |
| 2 | 18 629 |
| 3 | 19 209 |
Obviously the Senators would like those numbers to be higher, but at the end of the day they lead the series 1-0 and they'll take that.