Caps relieved to play for a crowd, even if it was Flyers fans originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
For the first time all season, the Capitals played a game with fans in attendance. Sure, they were Philadelphia Flyers fans, but beggars can't be choosers.
There were just over 3,000 fans in attendance at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday as Washington defeated the Flyers 3-1. In things you never thought you would ever hear, the Caps were actually glad to have the Philly fans in attendance.
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“It was great to see the fans back in the building," head coach Peter Laviolette said. "We’ll probably start to see that more around the league and as things move in the right direction in our world that we live in. So just to get them back was awesome."
Up to Sunday's game, Washington had played the season in front of empty arenas with nothing but artificial crowd noise. While that may make the broadcast sound more normal, it is no substitute for the atmosphere of a normal game. To have that back on Sunday, even to a small degree, provided a sense of normalcy to the players.
"It was great," John Carlson said. "It kind of felt almost weird out there, but I'm tired of the [artificial] crowd noise. I like to hear some booing and some cheering and the normal things that go on in an NHL game. Even though it's not a packed house like it shouldn't be, but it means a lot to the players I think. It feels a lot more natural for us."
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Playing in front of fans is likely to become a more frequent occurrence with people getting vaccinated, teams desperate for gate revenue and everyone feeling desperate to turn the page on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Philadelphia fans, of course, have a certain reputation for being merciless to both the visitors and home team alike and the boos were clearly audible as the Caps dominated from the second period on in the 3-1 win.
When asked about the boos, Laviolette said, "Any noise is good noise, I guess.”
