Bruce Boudreau isn’t a fan of the World’s Most Famous Arena.
The Capitals head coach trashed Madison Square Garden on Monday after his team lost Game 3 of its NHL playoff series to the Rangers there on Sunday.
“Well, the one thing, its reputation is far better than the actual building,” Boudreau said on a D.C.-area radio show, according to the Washington Post
.
“I mean, it’s nothing. The locker rooms are horrible. The benches are horrible. There’s no room for anything. But the reputation of being in Madison Square Garden is what makes it famous. Also, our building’s a lot louder, too. So I mean, they can say what they want, but it’s not that loud in there.”
The Capitals hold a 2-1 lead over the Rangers in the best-of-7 first-round series after the Rangers won, 3-2, in the Garden. The teams play again there Wednesday night.
“I don’t know what their coach is saying and I’m not worried about that, our building was rocking, and I had a great time,” Rangers center Brian Boyle told ESPN.com
. “It was a blast.”
Rangers coach John Tortorella wouldn’t fire back at Boudreau, either.
“We haven’t really thought too much about locker rooms, how loud it is,” Tortorella said Monday on ESPN 1050 Radio
. “I’m not even sure what he’s trying to say there.
“We’re just concerned with trying to be the best we can be and play the right way. Now, I will say the fans gave us a tremendous lift last night.
“I’m hoping that we can get off to a good start and continue on our way. That’s our concentration. Nothing else around us is going to (deter) us from our focus, and that’s our next game.”
Washington won the first two games at its Verizon Center, where most fans wore red to support the team.