With the Tampa Bay Lightning punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final Friday night, beating the New York Islanders 1-0 in game 7, coach Jon Cooper hopes the crowd at the Bell Centre will be allowed to get bigger.
"I hope they let more fans in there," said Cooper of Montreal's home arena. "The fans of Quebec, they haven't been back since '93, they deserve to watch their team play. I hope they get in there because...this game was meant to be played in front of fans."
Cooper is definitely not wrong. Since attendance has been allowed at games again, the atmosphere is noticeably different, even when watching from home. The Bell Centre currently allows for 3500 fans and even that small number has managed to be very vocal during games.
The last time the Canadiens and Lightning met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs was the second round in 2015. Tampa Bay defeated Montreal four games to two. The Lightning made the finals that year, but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
