The Florida Panthers just pulled off one of the biggest shockers of the NHL playoffs, and as their surprising run continues, the team wants to make sure its fans are the ones filling up the arena.
Fresh off their Game 7 win over the Boston Bruins, the Panthers released tickets Monday for Game 3, 4 and 6 of their second-round matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but any fans of Toronto outside of the U.S. won’t be able to buy tickets for the games at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
When attempting to buy tickets for the game on Ticketmaster, an “important event info” notice appears on the screen that says primary sales to the games will only be available to U.S. residents.
“Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders for primary tickets by residents outside of the United States will be canceled without notice and refunds given,” the notice says.
The restriction doesn’t apply to resale tickets, and is in place until Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.
NHL PLAYOFFS: Scores, matchups and schedules for first-round series
GAME 7: Experts pick winner for Rangers-Devils finale
Why are the Florida Panthers limiting ticket sales?
The Panthers will be playing against a team that broke a nearly 20-year playoff series losing streak, as Toronto won their first playoff series since 2004. One of the Original Six, the Maple Leafs have one of the most expansive fan bases, with fans in both Canada and the U.S.
The Panthers also had one of the lowest regular-season attendance numbers in the league, with an average of attendance of 16,682 of their 19,250-seat arena, according to Hockey Reference. The 86.7% filled arena was fourth-worst in the NHL, just ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks. However, the team had the highest average attendance in the first round of any playoff team, with an average of 19,531 (101.5%) in the three first-round games.
USA TODAY Sports has reached out to the Panthers for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Panthers limit playoff tickets vs. Maple Leafs to US residents only
