The crowd virtual during NHL games leave the players indifferent

magictr | August 2, 2020 | News | No Comments

The NHL has decided to use a host virtual provided by the video game EA Sports when his tournament recovery played in front of the bleachers empty.

August 2, 2020 8h24

The crowd virtual during NHL games leave the players indifferent

Alexis Belanger-Champagne

The Canadian Press

TORONTO — The game is old about 30 seconds, Brendan Gallagher clears a shot from close range and Matt Murray made the save. The crowd’s virtual abode of ice. Evgeni Malkin shoots two shots, in rapid succession, from the enclave, a slight crescendo is noticed in the background of the arena.

The NHL has decided to use a host virtual provided by the video game EA Sports when his tournament recovery played in front of the bleachers empty. She may have had to ensure that the crowd virtual simulerait the atmosphere of a game series, and not what seems to be a tough game.

On tv, the background noise is discrete. For the few members of media who gathered at the Scotiabank Arena for the first game between the Montreal canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins, this soundtrack provides the impression of serve to stifle what is said on the ice.

If we could hope to enjoy the unique experience of the presentation of matches without spectators to discover a little more who are the most active players with their vocal cords on the ice in the NHL, the tour has been successful in ensuring not to over-lift the veil, or expose the players to the vocabulary of colour.

During the action, we heard a few times the reactions at the bench after a good failure. Also, the wrestler Ric Flair would have been proud of the “Woooo!” heard at the bench of the Canadian after Paul Byron had twirls Brandon Tanev in the air at center ice in the first period.

The ears are the most sensitive would be less enjoyed the reactions when Phillip Danault has been punished for the third time in the match during the extension.

And for the players, this background noise seems to go unnoticed.

“When you’re in the heat of the action, you don’t notice it,” said the defender of the Penguins, Justin Schultz.

“We had the opportunity to tame this environment during a tough game, reminded the striker of the Canadian Nick Suzuki. When I’m on the ice, I don’t think the noise of the crowd.”

Even if Jonathan Drouin had said earlier this week that there was more atmosphere when its “games in the Atom BB in Mont-Tremblant”, the quality of the game has not been affected. The Penguins have started the first game of the series in strength, as they would have probably done if the match had taken place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and not on the ice to the neutral of the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

In addition to the decor created by the NHL to hide the empty seats, what we will can be in the folklore of the series 2020 will be other small items that may go unnoticed.

On more than one occasion, goalies Carey Price and Matt Murray leading the flock to the back of the locker room had the doors open overlooking the rink, so that a servant would have done in their place in a normal context.

There are also these washers discontinued on the canvases in the NHL, over the seats, when a throw errant passes over the bay window.

For the atmosphere, we will return. And it is still impossible to simulate more than 20,000 supporters cheering after a winning goal in overtime.

Le Soleil