Rantanen and Laine brought the Nokia Arena to full life with their handsome goals in the match between Colorado and Columbus.
Tampere
Ice Hockey League NHL is like formula one. The F1 circus lands somewhere in the world, runs its carefully protected machinery for just under a week and disappears.
F1 leaves behind crushed rubber, happy motorsport fans and that’s all. The TV viewer doesn’t really differ from the pictures of the pits, in which corner of the world drivers are interviewed.
The NHL works the same way. The two official league matches between Colorado and Columbus built their own little world in the Nokia Arena.
The ice in the arena was freed from advertising pollution, thank God. The Global series logo dominated the center circle. A couple of small ads in the middle area didn’t catch the eye.
The NHL brings its own decorations, offers soft drinks and a chicken meal to the media before the match. The interview wall is decorated to tell about the NHL’s visit.
To make the NHL impression perfect, there are referees, announcers and a master of ceremonies Mike Todd imported goods.
When the NHL brings its carefully constructed machinery to Europe, it should also bring hordes of fans larger than a few spectators to both ends.
The meeting between Columbus and Colorado followed a familiar line. The spectators followed the game, even got excited to spin the wave five minutes before the end, but they mostly didn’t care which team won.
Colorado, the defending champion, corrected its own with goals 6–3, and Mikko Rantanen became the big star of the evening.
Rantanen’s three goals, a hat trick, fired up the crowd, and luckily Patrick Laine made the audience go wild. The dance and the party started when the number 29 of the white shirts hit.
In the end, the Nokia Arena was far from sleepy, even if the club support was lacking.
One of the quietest NHL nights was played in Stockholm in 2008. by Daniel Alfredsson Ottawa faced Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh—and the packed Globe dozed off.
The mood only rose when Swedish NHL greats were interviewed or they sent greetings on the jumbo screen.
Tampere was able to organize the eighth official NHL match in Finland. The series began in 2009, when Chicago and Florida met twice at the then Hartwall Arena. In those games, he became the Finns’ favorite Ville KoistinenTampere’s ice hockey’s own son.
NHL matches have brought a goalkeeper to Finland Antti Niemen, Mikko Koivun, Tuomo Ruudun, Joni Pitkänen, Jussi Jokinen, Ville Leinon, Alexander Barkov to name a few.
Two are above the rest. Teemu Selänne received a rock star reception in 2011 when Anaheim took on Buffalo.
Patrik Laine is Tampere and the Nokia Arena’s own rock star, with all due respect to goal scorer Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen.
Back to back, Anaheim was left at Buffalo’s feet in the rink. The same happened to Laine’s Columbus.
At some point during his career, Teemu Selänne stated that the NHL is a damn tough league if you lose night after night. He spoke from experience.
Patrik Lainet can expect a very tough winter if the Bluejackets hold on.
The brave rise from a 0–3 loss to a momentary draw remained a thin consolation. Columbus needs wins more than anything else.
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