Panthers increase BB&T Center capacity to 75 percent for must-win Game 5 vs. Lightning
The Florida Panthers may play their final game at BB&T Center in the 2020-21 NHL season Monday, but they’ll be doing so in front of the largest indoor crowd for a major sporting event in South Florida since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The Panthers increased capacity for their must-win Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning to “just under” 75 percent, the team announced Sunday. With the increased capacity, the team could host close to 15,000 fans in Sunrise with its season on the line.
Florida trails the Lightning, 3-1, in its first-round series, and needs to win Monday to extend its season and force a Game 6 back in Tampa.
The Panthers’ decision to increase capacity comes after two limited-capacity sellouts for the first two games of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs and two limited-capacity sellouts in the final two games of the regular season. Florida previously increased its capacity from about 25 percent in the regular season up to 50 percent for the first two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Panthers had 5,040 in attendance for each of the final two games of the regular season and 9,646 for each of the first two games of the Cup playoffs last week.
Fans over the age of 2 will still be required to wear masks in the building.
On Saturday, the Miami Heat also announced it would be increasing capacity for its upcoming playoff games against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat will welcome 17,000 fans at AmericanAirlines Arena for Game 3 of its first-round series Thursday — about 87 percent of the Miami arena’s usual capacity. The Heat was admitting about 5,700 fans at games at the end of the regular season.
Teams and leagues across the United States are increasing capacity this spring as the vaccination rollout causes cases, hospitalizations and deaths to fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance to say, “Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
More defensive changes coming?
Markus Nutivaara didn’t participate in practice Sunday at the BB&T Center, but coach Joel Quenneville said the defenseman is “fine.” In Nutivaara’s place, rookie defenseman Matt Kiersted took part in practice.
While Quenneville was pleased with his defense’s performance in Florida’s Game 3 win Thursday, a series of defensive breakdowns Saturday let Tampa Bay score five goals on its first 13 shots to blow out the Panthers, 6-2, at Amalie Arena.
Ahead of Game 3, Quenneville scratched Keith Yandle for the first time since 2009 and he didn’t rule out a potential return for the defenseman for Game 5.
“A lot of things under consideration,” the coach said. “We’ll see tomorrow.”
Yandle mostly played on the third pairing next to fellow defenseman Radko Gudas before his benching. Nutivaara has almost exclusively played on the second pairing next to fellow defenseman Brandon Montour since Florida acquired Montour from the Buffalo Sabres in April.
This story was originally published May 23, 2021 at 11:04 AM.
