Game-time temperature was expected to be about 60 degrees Fahrenheit at the loanDepot park on Friday. Fans enjoyed the sun during the pregame festivities outside the stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.
In addition to the Discover Face-Off Panel and the NHL on TNT pregame show, there were plenty of activities for fans, including hardest shot, the accuracy challenge and bubble hockey challenge. The Stanley Cup, which the Panthers won the past two seasons, was also on display.
Nick Arbia, a Panthers fan from Orlando, waited in line with his wife Janice and their 11-year-old daughter Emma for about half an hour to have their photo taken with the Cup. They were excited to see Florida host an outdoor game.
“I think it’s great,” Arbia said. “This is my first time. I’ve only been a hockey fan for about four years now and I’m in love with it now. We got some merch. We were shooting pucks at the net. It was a fun time. Great time.”
Fotiu recalled sleeping outside Madison Square Garden to wait to buy Rangers tickets for the Stanley Cup Playoffs when he was 16 years old. He said going on to play for the Rangers was, “like a dream come true.”
“And I was playing with the greatest players around,” Fotiu, who also played for the Hartford Whalers, Calgary Flames, Flyers and Oilers, said. “I played with Gordie Howe. That’s like a gift from God when you play with Gordie Howe. And not only did I play with him, when I got traded back to the Rangers, he came to see me play, a kid from New York.
“So, what more could I ask for?”
Howe was Gretzky’s favorite player when he was growing up in Brantford, Ontario. He went on to break Howe’s previous NHL record of 1,850 points. Gretzky also broke Howe’s mark of 801 goals and retired in 1999 with 894, which stood as the NHL record until Alex Ovechkin (912) broke it last season.
“Gordie was so nice to everybody,” Gretzky said. “He was incredible. As great of a player that he was, he was a better person.”
