With matchups for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs set, many hockey fans are already planning purchases to catch their favourite teams in action.
But if you want to see your Vancouver Canucks go up against the Nashville Predators in person, expect to shell out a decent amount of cash.
The schedule for the Pacific Conference has yet to be finalized, but the matchup between the two teams was solidified on Wednesday, when the Dallas Stars and the St. Louis Blues went into overtime. The game would ultimately end in a shootout, with the Blues falling to the Stars.
Despite the lack of a schedule for the Canucks-Predators showdown, both teams have already been selling tickets to their home games. Vancouver, which has home-ice advantage over Nashville, launched its ticket sales after it clinched the playoffs at the end of March.
For a game at Rogers Arena, the cheapest you’ll find is about $530 for a pair of tickets in the upper bowl. For lower bowl seats, if you want to be right up against the action, a pair of tickets being resold through Ticketmaster is posted for $6,000 apiece — for a grand total of over $12,000.
Ticket prices in Nashville are a bit more digestible, with some as low as around $120 for a single seat.
But, if you’re planning a trip to catch your Canucks play the Preds at Bridgestone Arena, good luck being able to actually purchase tickets. Many people in B.C. who’ve been scoping out prices in Nashville have been getting notices that a “restricted sales area has been implemented” for the Predators’ home games.
“Sales will be restricted to residents of the Nashville Predators television viewing area — Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia,” a popup some people have been getting reads.
“Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside the viewing area will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
However, these kinds of restrictions aren’t uncommon during the playoffs, with the Canucks having done something similar in 2011 — the last time fans were able to fill Rogers Arena for the post-season. Vancouver also made the playoffs in 2020, though that was during the pandemic and teams were not allowing fans in arenas. The Canucks were the Canadian team that went the deepest but ultimately lost in the second round.
A year after missing the NHL playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons, and after three straight years of upheaval and chaos, the Canucks beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 at Rogers Arena Tuesday to win the Pacific Division and the team’s first banner since 2013.
The Canucks reached 50 wins for only the third time in franchise history. As of Wednesday night, they had 109 points ahead of their final regular-season game Thursday in Winnipeg.
Nashville should be a formidable opponent for the Canucks. The Predators have ridden a strong second half of the season into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, posting a record of 21-7-3 since the NHL All-Star break.
The two teams went head-to-head three times during the regular season, with the Canucks winning all three games. The last matchup between the two, however, was played way back in December, a game won by Vancouver 5-2.
Neither the Canucks nor the Predators have ever won a Stanley Cup.
Vancouver’s final regular season game is Thursday night against the Jets in Winnipeg.
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-With files from Marcus Fitzgerald, Sonia Aslam, and Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre