Hockey, it turns out, is a surprisingly resilient beast, even without fans. This was no normal preseason game, not that it would ever be under these circumstances, with a zing to it that's inevitably lacking from the usual September previews, especially in the final minutes.
But with the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals icing full-strength lineups in this one and only dress rehearsal for the postponed postseason, trying to get in gear in their only chance to pop the clutch, it was easy enough to focus on the action on the ice and not the tarps covering the seats at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena.
"It kind of feels normal when you're on the ice," said Vincent Trocheck, who scored one of Carolina's goals in a 3-2 loss. "But when you're on the bench, it's weird to look out and see no fans."
The NHL's bubble has so far held firm, and at this point the Hurricanes are beginning a stay that could be a short one _ with the No. 1 pick in the draft a potential consolation prize _ or a much, much longer one.
After this long away, it's all happening so fast. It's a little crazy to think that in only two days the Hurricanes and New York Rangers will be playing for real. Based on Wednesday, the Hurricanes still have a lot to figure out by Saturday, with goaltending atop a surprisingly long list.
Petr Mrazek got the start against the Capitals but didn't exactly dazzle, while James Reimer looked polished in relief, stopping all nine shots he faced, including a couple dangerous ones. Rod Brind'Amour has ultimate confidence in Mrazek _ look no further than the decision to go right back to Mrazek to start the Boston series last year, despite Curtis McElhinney's work against the Islanders _ and it's anyone's guess whether Wednesday's limited evidence will be enough to sway him.
Based on Wednesday alone, Reimer is clearly the better option to start the series against the Rangers. There was an argument to be made to go that direction anyway, based on how Reimer and Mrazek closed out the season in March, but there shouldn't be any debate now.
"We'll look at it, obviously," Brind'Amour said. "Both guys I thought were good."
As for the defense sans Dougie Hamilton, Sami Vatanen manned the right side next to Jaccob Slavin in his unofficial Hurricanes debut but there's still a void Hamilton would normally fill. The question the Hurricanes face is whether they can sort things out on defense until Hamilton comes back, which they hope will be at some point in the Rangers series. Can Brady Skjei find his footing? Can Jake Gardiner be relied upon?
"We've got a lot of decisions to make now," Brind'Amour said. "We knew all along this time would come, having to really put the best lineup out there possible. With a couple guys out that makes it interesting as well."
There's so much about this that's different but some of it remains the same. It's possible to skate through the regular seasons without answers to some of these questions as the games come one after another, but nothing is overlooked in the playoffs, even when they're played in August.
They're here, now. The Hurricanes had to wait a decade to get back into the playoffs last year and they had to wait four months _ and get shoved into playing an extra round when they had earned otherwise _ to do it again this year. Their one trial run is over. It all counts from here on out.
