- The National Hockey League has suspended the outdoor game at Lake Tahoe between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche due to poor ice conditions.
- A combination of unseasonably warm temperatures and a bright overhead sun made a mess of the ice.
- The game will resume at 9 PM Pacific/12 Midnight Eastern.
The NHL has suspended Saturday’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche after one period due to poor ice conditions. The game will be resumed at 9 PM Pacific/12 Midnight Eastern with the Avs leading 1-0.
The problem isn’t bad weather but too much good weather. A blazingly sunny day, no cloud cover and unseasonably high temperatures have combined to make a mess out of the ice. Here’s what the Las Vegas Review-Journal said about the ice surface:
The Avalanche led 1-0 on a goal by defenseman Samuel Girard, but the bright sun created numerous issues with the ice surface on the rink built on the 18th fairway of Edgewood Tahoe Resort golf course.
The area near the center ice logo was severely damaged, causing players and officials to trip and fall on a handful of occasions during the first period.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman commented on the ice issues:
“We always knew and we’ll know going forward that when you play outside and ice is important, the weather conditions can affect whether or not we can play the game. We’ve been lucky to this point.”
“We’ve done over 30 outdoor games. This has been the most difficult weather circumstance we’ve had, and it’s a beautiful day.”
Sunday’s game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers has also been rescheduled to later in the day:
The NHL announced that Sunday’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins has been moved to a 7:30 p.m. ET start time, and will now be broadcast on NBCSN instead of NBC.
Pre-game coverage will begin at 7 p.m. ET (livestream link) on NBCSN.
It was originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET start time.
Along with this change, Sunday’s game between the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils that was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. ET has been moved to that 2 p.m. ET time slot and will be broadcast on NBC
There’s every reason to think that the cooler nighttime temperatures and lack of sun will do the trick and both outdoor games should be played to completion.
