Playoff Hockey, Energy is Back in Raleigh

A current-capacity crowd of 12,000 - a seemingly even bigger bunch with one of the largest lower bowls in the league packed to the brim - stood, cheered and waved rally towels as the final minute ticked off in the Carolina Hurricanes
5-2 win against the Nashville Predators in Game 1
.
The final horn signaled the clock hitting zero - at least, that's how it's designed, but you might not have heard it over the cacophonous din of the crowd and then the goal horn.
It had been a long time since PNC Arena sounded like that.

In fact, it was two years and a day since playoff hockey was last played in Raleigh. It wasn't as long as the wait from 2009 to 2019 by any stretch, but at times, 2020 certainly felt like a decade in itself.
"I think the people just needed something to cheer about. We had a year-and-a-half worth of just junk thrown at everybody," head coach Rod Brind'Amour
said on Tuesday
. "They let it all out last night. That's what it felt like."
The playoffs always bring out the best. The hockey is unmatched in its skill, physicality and intensity. The crowds are unmatched in their passion, volume and fervor.
Game 1 on Monday night in Raleigh was no different, but in ways, it was very different.
!
"Yeah, they're cheering for us, but they were just cheering that they got to go outside, root for a team and have a sense of, OK, this is kind of normal again," Brind'Amour explained. "Forget about all the crap that's gone on. It's just, hey, we're here to enjoy ourselves, and that's what life is about. We can do it in an environment with people you love and care about, and what the heck? Why wouldn't you? I think it just all came out last night."
It was a symphony of exuberance and relief, of liveliness and community, of joy and normalcy after too many months of seemingly none.
It was a perfect storm of emotion and a raw expression of bliss in experiencing playoff hockey as it's meant to be experienced.
Sure, the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Toronto bubble
might have felt like playoff hockey
, at least on the ice. And by definition, it certainly was playoff hockey; there was a qualifying-round wrinkle to the NHL's annual postseason tournament, but the Stanley Cup was still awarded at the end.
But after living and breathing both experiences, the "playoff" ambiance of the bubble seems just as artificial as the pumped-in crowd noise meant to mimic a game-like environment.
Playoff hockey - and really, any sport - is meant to be played in front of thousands of passionate fans with emotions high and decibels soaring. There's meant to be cheering and chanting and wooing and booing. There's meant to be high-fiving and hugging with family and friends and random strangers alike. There's meant to be that immersive shared experience among a diverse and united community.
It began on Monday in the vast parking lots of PNC Arena hours before puck drop, and even a passing shower or two couldn't dampen spirited tailgates.

It culminated in the Canes' first-ever postseason Storm Surge, a clap at center ice and a simple, yet meaningful salute to the 12,000 fans that were finally, at long last, back where they belonged.
Back home.
"That's hockey," Jordan Staal smiled
after scoring two goals
and earning first-star honors in Game 1. "For everybody, it's been a long time coming. There's no better feeling than playing a big game at home with the fans like that. The boys were ready to go. The fans were ready. It was a lot of fun. Playoff hockey. There's nothing better."
The fans are back. The electricity is back. The goosebumps and feelings and emotions are back. The Loudest House in the NHL is back.
"It was electric," Brind'Amour said. "That's why you play."
The Carolina Hurricanes 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs are powered by DieHard. DieHard batteries are available at Advance Auto Parts and participating Carquest locations nationwide.