Bruins v. Rangers: My experience at Madison Square Garden

This is all about my visit to Madison Square Garden for a hockey game. A Facebook friend of mine commented that all hockey fans should go to this venue at least once. I guess I can check that box from my list.

I was in New York for work, staying a couple blocks from Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers happened to be on a homestand, so I thought I'd try and get a ticket. To use the cliched baseball reference: I struck out - at first.

I tried to get a seat after their first game, against Florida, had already started. The cheapest seat available in the nearly-sold-out arena was about $260. Too steep. So I went back with more time to spare for the Rivarly Night last Wednesday, an Original Six matchup with the Boston Bruins. $170. Still pricey but doable. I justified it with the rare opportunity this would be for me to attend a game at the Garden.

Taking it all in
Getting from the box office to my seat was an interesting journey. First I took about 27 escalators up about nine stories. A slight exaggeration on the escalator count. My seat was on something called "the bridge," and I wasn't really sure what that meant. Turns out, it's just like it sounds.

I took in the arena and all it had to offer. My best description (If you've been there before, just skip ahead.) is that it's an arena with the usual bowl seating, though some of it looks less uniform. I assume that's because the arena also houses basketball and the New York Knicks.

Then there's this bridge of a couple rows of seats - each with their own glass panes - that is up high near the ceiling that spans the ice length-wise. Then there were a bunch of seats in what I'll call the upper bowl, where it looked like they're behind you from the bridge perspective. Just weird to see when you're used to a standard arena like the Xcel Energy Center.

Not a bad seat. Not bad at all.
I walked around before the game, grabbed my nutritional hot dog supper (Side note: I was a little surprised that concession prices didn't seem much more expensive than at the X.) and then stopped to watch the teams warm up.

As it turned out, that expensive ticket got me quite a view. I know people hear "300 level" or "high up" about seats and think, "Oh, the nosebleed section. No good view there." I disagree. It's a different view than say, along the glass, but it's still a good view. My seat was actually in the handicapped area (a foam-padded folding chair) located right at center ice.

Right about at ceiling level, sure, but still at center ice.

It reminded me of the view from the press box at the X - high up with a good way to see the overall scope of the game with a chance to see the plays develop. I was also on the same side as the team benches.

These are a few of my favorite things

I loved some of the pregame setup, with the video board and lights/graphics displayed directly on the ice. I also learned they dub themselves "Rangerstown." I guess that's their State of Hockey.

One of my favorite things about the place, I noticed after the game started, was the scoreboard. Of course, it had the large video screen, game clock, score and shots-on-goal count. The cool part though was it listed the players on the ice at the moment, hits and faceoff percentage. I approve. It made things a little easier for me, too, since I'll admit I don't know those teams as well.

Mats Zuccarello (or Zoooooooc! to the crowd) was already the man of the night, what with his likeness in gnome form as the fan giveaway. He also tallied the game's first goal and later added an assist. It looked like the Bruins tied it at 1, but the Rangers executed a successful coach challenge determining the play was offside.

The Rangers went up 2-0 after the first period and 3-1 after two. Rangers had goals from Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, J.T. Miller and an empty netter from Rick Nash.

The final was 5-2, though shots on goal told a different story. Henrik Lundquist robbed the Bruins - who had 41 shots - of at least a couple goals. The talented goalie yet again had his A-game in his back pocket. I also loved that the fans chanted "Hen-RIK!" a few times, only after he made brilliant saves. Take note, Wild fans. It wasn't every time he touched the puck.

Songs, T-shirts and celebs

Here's the New York Rangers' goal song, a nice little ditty that gets the crowd pumping fists in rhythm and shouting, "Hey!" There were definitely some highlight reel goals, so it was fun to see the celebration a few times.

I'm happy to report there was no activity related to the dreaded wave at Madison Square Garden. It was a good game, so I hoped there wouldn't be. However, they make a huge deal about t-shirt tosses for the crowd. They send around people dressed in blue who throw shirts to over-excited fans wanting something free. Then at the second intermission, they come on the ice with your typical t-shirt cannons, plus a massive robot-like device dubbed the "T-Machine." It was all a little too intense.

They also do these things called "Celebrity Welcomes," because, well, it's New York. They showed a the famous clip from the "Taken" movies during the game. I was all confused for a second, until the avid Ranger fan near me, complete with his heavy New York accent, said, "That means he's here!" Sure enough, there was Liam Neeson in the seats.

Anyway, I had a fun time at the Garden. I was pretty neutral about cheering, enjoyed seeing another NHL arena and was glad I spent the money for such a cool experience. I only wish my family could have been there with me.