Shortly after closing out their first-round series against the Capitals Sunday night, the Bruins announced that they will return to "near full capacity" at TD Garden beginning this Saturday, which is likely the earliest the second round would begin anyways.
While the Bruins have certainly appreciated having the Garden 12% and then 25% full, nothing beats the atmosphere of a full house -- or "near full" house -- in the playoffs.
It's certainly a nice bonus for the Bruins after going nearly 15 months without experiencing a packed house while enduring numerous other COVID-related restrictions that have essentially cut them off from much of the outside world.
Speaking to the media via Zoom on Monday, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney explained how much it means to the team to finally be able to get close to a sellout crowd of 17,850.
"We’re very thankful to [TD Garden president] Amy Latimer and Cam [Neely] and the entire TD Garden staff for advocating with all the authorities, including the Governor, and thankful to him [Charlie Baker] and his staff to get us to this point," Sweeney said. "We’re fortunate that we're moving on to the next round and be able to take advantage of what looks like as much full capacity as we can within the protocols and what the league will mandate.
"And we need it. The players have gone through tremendous challenges over the course of a year and a half, and missing the excitement, having the energy of an incredible fanbase. And they persevered. It's incredible the amount of adversity each and every one of those guys have to go through. It’s difficult. You’ve heard our players talk about it in pockets. To go out and perform at a level that we all, including the fans, expect them to do, it’s not an easy task. Hopefully now we can get more fans in our building to fully support them in the way that we know all Bruins fans will do."
The Bruins will face either the Penguins or Islanders in the second round. That series is currently tied 2-2 and could end either Wednesday (if one of them finishes it in six) or Friday (if it goes seven).
If the Penguins win, the Bruins would start on the road with Pittsburgh being the higher seed. If the Islanders win, the Bruins would have home-ice advantage and open the series at the Garden.
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