Agree with all this. We are in upper bowl, gradually made our way to center ice, row 3. The only move we would make at this point would be to row 2, but those are rare to come available, at least at center ice. We could have moved to row 2 but further away from center, so after comparing the seats we stayed with what we have. Prefer center over being one row down.
We have sat in lower bowl with upgraded tickets a few times, but it's easier to see the whole ice from further up. Sat in row 1 lower bowl once and agree it was fun for the one time. The other thing I didn't like about the lower bowl was it is difficult to see the score board, you have to crane your neck.