OTTAWA – A hockey game felt trivial Saturday afternoon, but the NHL, Ottawa Senators and Rangers were aware of their place in all of this.
Prior to their afternoon matinee at the Canadian Tire Center, a 2-1 Rangers shootout win, the Senators held a moment of silence, carried France’s flag onto the ice along with the American and Canadian colors, and played the French national anthem as the players and fans stood solemnly in the dark.
Then they dropped the puck and tried to enjoy a freedom no one in Canada’s capital took for granted.
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“Obviously everybody’s aware of the circumstances and it is touching and difficult,” said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, who makes his offseason home in nearby Hull, Quebec.