TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning gave new meaning to the term “crowd control’’ before Thursday night’s National Hockey League playoff opener against the Detroit Red Wings.
And judging by the scarcity of out-of-town jerseys visible at Amalie Arena, the idea of steering ticket sales toward Lightning fans could be deemed an inspirational bolt out of the blue.
Unlike the regular season, when Detroit fans may have outnumbered Tampa Bay supporters in the two matchups at Tampa, it was hard to find many Red Wing fans in the Lightning’s home building as the chase for the Stanley Cup began.