Lesson learned, Bruce Boudreau: Never tell a New Yorker they're not loud enough.
Here's a sold-out Game 4 crowd at Madison Square Garden, asking the Washington Capitals coach "Can You Hear Us?!" after his critical comments about the arena's "quiet" atmosphere this week:
In this Comcast SportsNet clip, you hear a deafening "Booooooo-dreau!" after the initial chant as the Rangers had a 3-0 lead in the second period:
It wasn't the first time that was heard during Game 4; previously, it preceded the word "Sucks" in a chant.
As we mentioned Wednesday morning, the Capitals vs. the Rangers suddenly became Boudreau vs. a building when he slammed "The Mecca of Sports Entertainment" in a radio interview on Sunday. From the NY Daily News:
"Well, the one thing, its reputation is far better than the actual building. I mean, it's nothing," Boudreau said of the Garden on 105.9 The Edge. "The locker rooms are horrible. The benches are horrible. There's no room for anything.
"But the reputation of being in Madison Square Garden is what makes it famous. Also, our building (Verizon Center) is a lot louder, too. So, I mean, they can say what they want, but it's not that loud in there."
It was that loud in there on Wednesday night. Whether or not Boudreau used those comments, and others about the Rangers targeting defenseman Mike Green, as a diversion from the Caps' Game 3 loss, there's no question they served to fire up the Blueshirt faithful Wednesday night at MSG.
(Although the Capitals would have the last laugh, winning 4-3 in overtime to take a 3-1 series lead.)
"Can You Hear Us?!" What an awesome moment of puckhead spontaneity, inspired by a suggestion earlier in the day by NY Rangers Blog. That's a European soccer quality chant. Or, at the very least, vintage ECW.