I was waiting for a great win to chime in here as well, as I have 2 ideas.
1. Very easy. Cup-holders. Give me a place to put my beer, and I'll jump and cheer for everything.
2. This is a suggestion to those of you going to the games: we need a contingent. I'm not sure if there's a bunch of you that sit near each other, but I've thought about this since they ran a profile on Section 303 in Nashville. They even have their chants online for people to rally before games:
https://section303.com/chants
But they have an incredibly engaged crowd, even outside the playoffs. SN did a piece on Mark Hollinsworth who started this thing amongst a much less engaged fanbase than we have now. Worth a watch if anyone feels like they're goofy and confident enough to get it going:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...ing-to-behold/
I know the team on the ice makes it tough to engage, but there's chants for that too.
"Let's get moving *clap*. *clap*. *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*"
"Hey Flames! The game started! Get your ass in gear! Murray's awful *clap*. *clap*. *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*"
I mean... that would at least be fun, right?
You also wonder what impact that has on the players on the ice. Chicken v egg, but I wouldn't be too fired up playing in a library either. No player is ever going to say this, but I'm sure playing in front of a bunch of suits that are less interested in the game than they are their phone is much less exciting than a screaming fan-base urging you on.
I wonder how much is lip-service, but the players seem to be pretty aware of it in Nashville. I couldn't find an on-ice interview I swear existed (where I think it was Neal talking about how they hear the fans), but here's Laviolette talking a bit about it:
Edit, it was:
Edit again:
What interesting things to hear from Neal throughout that interview btw.