from Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen,

One assumed guarantee was a capacity crowd for an NHL playoff game in a Canadian city.

Ottawa fans are turning that notion on its ear.

For Thursday’s Round 2 opener against the New York Rangers, hundreds of empty seats were conspicuous at all three arena levels, a hot topic of discussion between whistles.

The development is stunning considering this is only the second time since 2007 the Senators have been among the final eight teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Just as the first sultry weather of the season screamed, ” Patio Bar!!” the Senators entertained the Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal. A crowd of 16,744 took in Ottawa’s 2-1 win at the Canadian Tire Centre, the smallest home gate this post-season by about 2,000. Official capacity is 18,572 but more than 20,000 attended Daniel Alfredsson night.

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