The pandemic caused the indefinite postponement of the next installment of the NHL’s Winter Classic, the most recent would have been involving the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues.
The NHL then decided to set up shop and build a rink at Lake Tahoe, setting up two games this weekend. It was going to be the first outdoor game in Vegas Golden Knights’ history, matching up with the Colorado Avalanche.
No one could have expected a simple thing like the sun to cause a near seven-hour delay in getting the game in. During the first period the sunshine caused puddling on the ice surface, with the Avs already up 1-0 on a goal from Sam Girard.
The first Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres was nearly postponed when it started snowing during the game. Several times play had to be stopped to clear some of the new-fallen powder off the surface. While fresh snow is perfect if you’re downhill skiing, it is your worst enemy when playing on a 200’ x 80’ sheet of ice. This is why you will often see arena crews making quick passes during TV timeouts during NHL broadcasts. The less snow or “spray” there is on the surface until the zamboni can smooth everything out at intermission, the less the puck is likely to take a wicked bounce off something that isn’t a dasher board or stanchion between the glass.
There were no fans in attendance, as is the case with many of the league’s 31 franchises as the season nears the halfway point. Only last week it was announced that the state of New York will allow 10-percent capacity to professional franchises whose arena/stadium capacity is over 10,000. This will hopefully jumpstart the Sabres, but will also allow Islanders, Rangers and New York Knick and Brooklyn Net fans into arenas for the first time in a year.
It’s not like anyone really wanted to turn out for Jet and Giant games last season, either. Although 15-20K would have been nice for Bills’ games on their march to the AFC Championship Game last month.
It took crews over eight hours to prepare the ice and let it freeze enough to complete the game, which did not resume until after 9:00 PM local time. The Avs never trailed, winning 3-2, and allowing them to keep pace with the Knights and Blues in the West Division.
It remains to be seen if the weather will be a factor for Sunday’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins, the top two teams in the East Division.
With the Seattle Kraken coming into the fold next season, the NHL will have another market where the idea of them getting an outdoor game will likely involve finding a compatible road stadium, due to the high levels of precipitation in Seattle year-round. Once fans return full-time, likely starting next season, I could see the league kicking the tires on an outdoor game at the domed Allegiant Stadium in Vegas, or even the new retractable-roof Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.
However, these are different times this season, so the four teams involved this weekend can play a meaningful regular season game, then snowboard down the mountain to catch a flight to their next matchup.
I don’t think the league would be crazy enough to try and pipe in crowd noise, especially if you’re playing on a mountain over 6,000 feet above sea level.
Then again, they did try bringing puck tracking back into the fold for broadcasts this year. Maybe an actual avalanche and playing on slush will give them headlines until fans return in greater numbers as the playoffs approach.
-JC24