CALGARY- Alberta’s largest city is buzzing after the Calgary Flames beat the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night to end a six-year NHL playoff drought.
Following the victory, hundreds of hockey fans poured out of the Saddledome and onto 17th Avenue S.W. to celebrate, leading many to believe the so-called Red Mile will be re-ignited when the Flames’ opening series against the Vancouver Canucks gets underway.
“The fan support we have got all year has been incredible,” said Flames defenceman Kris Russell following Friday’s practice. “Obviously, we are going to need them going forward.”
Some kids turned up at Friday’s practice chanting ‘Johnny! Johnny!’ to Flames’ rookie forward Johnny Gaudreau who scored the opening goal in Thursday’s victory.
“(It) just gets the guys more and more motivated to play when you got fans supporting you so well,” said Gaudreau.
Many hockey analysts projected the Flames, a young and rebuilding team, would miss the playoffs in 2015 but the team surpassed expectations and developed a reputation for coming up with big victories. Now, the team could even secure home-ice advantage against their Vancouver rivals if they beat the Jets on Saturday and the Canucks lose their final game.
“Being from Vancouver, it’s going to be fun to go back there and play against those guys,” said Flames’ winger David Jones. “I couldn’t really sleep last night… the atmosphere in the arena was something I have never been a part of.”
Watch: Lisa MacGregor has info on how to get your hands on the hottest ticket in town.
Tickets for Flames playoff games are expected to be in high demand.
While the NHL playoff schedule has yet to be announced, the Calgary Flames say the team offer fans a lottery system for tickets. Fans will be able to go to the team website and register for a lottery that will be held 72 hours prior to game one being played.
Season ticket holders will be given priority but the team says at least 1200 tickets will still be available. Prices are expected to range between $85 and $500.The team is also advising fans to be cautious about buying tickets elsewhere. It says NHL Ticket Exchange is the only verified site where fans can purchase scalped tickets.
The last three times the Flames and Canucks have faced off against one another in the playoffs was in 1989, 1994, and 2004. All three series went to seven games and ended in overtime. Not only that, but each time, the winner of the series has gone on to play in the Stanley Cup final.
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