These are strange times we’re living in with COVID-19 continuing to have a major impact on sports.
Canada has been especially proactive in combatting the virus, reducing indoor capacity, among other preventative measures, aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 and its various strains (Omicron being the most prevalent). In accordance with government health and safety regulations, Ontario-based teams have closed their doors to fans until further notice, affecting the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, who have played to empty arenas for the better part of a month.
The lack of fans has lent itself to certain oddities, including earlier this month when Suns All-Star Devin Booker lashed out at a mascot for distracting him during a fourth quarter free-throw attempt.
A similarly unusual situation arose Tuesday in Ottawa, where Senators veteran Tyler Ennis recorded a rare hat-trick in a 5-0 win over his former team, the Buffalo Sabres.
It’s customary for fans to celebrate such an occasion by hurling hats onto the ice, but with the 19,000-seat capacity Canadian Tire Centre all but empty, only one hat was thrown. It belonged to Ennis’ teammate, goaltender Anton Forsberg, who got a breather on Tuesday with Matt Murray in net.
Seeing a stadium attendant scrape a single hat off the ice after a hat-trick — the second of Ennis’ career — is a perfect encapsulation of sports in our post-COVID-19 world, where bizarre scenes like this seem to unfold on a nightly basis.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram