Fewer fans may head to the bar to watch games

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COQUITLAM (NEWS1130) – This year’s Canucks playoffs could be affected by our tougher drinking and driving laws. Fans who might otherwise watch the game over a few drinks at their local drinking spot may be less inclined to do so, for fear of coming up against the breathalyzer.

News1130 spoke with Ian, who says the days of heading to the place where the action is during a game, are over.

“It’s too dangerous to drink and drive. I don’t do it anymore. I usually prefer to go to the pub where they have the big screens which I don’t have at home. It’s very cool to sit in the pub but too costly these days,” he explains.

This year he says he’ll enjoy a six pack and a bag of chips at home.

While this is traditionally the busiest time of the year, some pub owners in the Tri-Cities are worried, given business has already dropped since stricter drinking driving penalties came in last fall and a lot of their clients in the suburbs depend on their cars.

Parties anticipated downtown

Vancouver Police are hoping local hockey fans following the Canucks’ run for the Cup do so responsibly. Cst. Lindsey Houghton says it’s all about common sense.

“We’ll be looking for open liquor and open consumption of liquor. We want people to have fun, but we want people to be safe. If you’re planning to drink alcohol, do it at an establishment or do it at a friend’s place,” he states.

We can expect to see a large police presence downtown on game nights.  Houghton is hoping to see the kind of positive energy we saw in the city during last year’s Olympics.

Soon, you will be seeing Henrik and Daniel everywhere

With the playoffs starting two days from now, Sedin jerseys seem to be one of the hot-ticket items.

That’s not unexpected for people like Brian Tran at Cyclone Taylor Sports in Vancouver. “We had a bunch of Sedin jerseys pre-made, like Henrik Sedin jerseys and they are all gone now,” he points out.

This year’s Art Ross trophy winner is selling a little bit better than last year’s Art Ross trophy winner. “Daniel seems to sell more than Henrik but they’re not too far off from one another,” Tran notes.

Car flags are also big sellers. Expect to see those everywhere by game one on Wednesday.

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