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Get your ear plugs ready: Bruce Boudreau blasts Madison Square Garden

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Just about every sport has its buildings that are “sacred cows,” even if they are ultimately places of commerce.

Baseball boasts the most obvious examples, which such staples as Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. For the most part, hockey arenas are shifting more and more toward sterile, sponsor-named palaces that lack much in personality.

With the number of unique barns dwindling, Madison Square Garden ranks as one of the few remaining “special places to play.”

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau couldn’t agree less, though, as he discussed on radio station 105.9 The Edge. The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg shared the most brazen bits of Boudreau’s bulletin board barbs.

“Well, the one thing, its reputation is far better than the actual building,” the coach said. “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.”

It’s been ages since I’ve been able to attend a sporting event at MSG in person - think Patrick Ewing’s prime years with the New York Knicks - but a friend of mine said the arena’s lighting makes it look like you’re watching a game through Polaroid photos.

That’s about the biggest criticism I could really muster, though. You won’t find me bad-mouthing an arena as historic as MSG, especially with fans as knowledgeable (and occasionally profane) as Rangers fans. The fact that Boudreau said the Verizon Center crowds are louder means he’s practically goading their hatred in Game 4, but perhaps he wants to deflect the pressure from his team?

Say what you will about Boudreau’s comments, the guy speaks his mind and adds untold portions of entertainment value to this series. He wasn’t shy about criticizing the officiating in Game 3 during an interview on his bench, so for those of us who tire of clichebots, Boudreau is a great change of pace.

It probably wasn’t wise to rile up Rangers fans, but it should definitely make things more fun.