Sunny Lake Tahoe wreaks havoc with NHL’S outdoor game
The setting was spectacular but the ice conditions were far from it, leading to an extended delay between the first and second period of the outdoor game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche on Saturday at Lake Tahoe.
The NHL decided to halt the game for more than eight hours after bright sun led to poor ice conditions that had players and officials repeatedly falling because of holes on the ice.
“We’ve done over 30 outdoor games,” Commissioner Gary Bettman told NBC. “This has been the most difficult weather circumstance we’ve had, and it’s a beautiful day. But if you look up at the sun, the cloud cover is everywhere but where the sun is, and it did a number on the ice.”
The game was halted after the first period at 12:55 p.m., with the Avalanche leading 1-0, and Bettman said the plan was to play the final two periods starting at 9 p.m.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANADIENS 3 >> Auston Matthews scored twice to increase his Nhl-leading goals total to 18 and added two assists in Toronto’s victory over Montreal.
Mitch Marner had a goal and two assists, Travis Boyd and Alexander Kerfoot also scored and Frederik Andersen made 30 saves to help forthe Nhl-leading Maple Leafs.
RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 1 >> Alexis Lafrenière scored his second NHL goal, Artemi Panarin had two assists and New York beat Washington for its second consecutive victory.
Lafrenière, the top pick in the 2020 draft, cashed in on his promotion to the Rangers’ top line by scoring for the first time in eight games.
SABRES 3, DEVILS 2 >> Sam Reinhart scored two goals and Buffalo snapped a four-game losing streak.
Colin Miller also scored and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves for the Sabres, who had not won since beating the Devils in a shootout Jan. 30.
Kyle Palmieri and P.K. Subban scored in the third period for the Devils.
KINGS 4, COYOTES 2 >> Alex Iafallo scored two goals, Cal Peterson stopped 22 shots and Los Angeles posted its fourth straight victory.
RED WINGS 2, PANTHERS 1 >> Mathias Brome scored his first NHL goal late in the second period and Detroit held on to edge Florida.
Patrik Nemeth also scored his first goal of the season for the Red Wings, who won for only the second time in seven games. Detroit rebounded from a 7-2 loss to Florida the previous night.
PENGUINS 3, ISLANDERS 2 >> Sidney Crosby had two assists in his 1,000th NHL game, and Pittsburgh beat New York.
Kris Letang scored twice, including a tiebreaker in the third, as the Penguins won for the fourth time in five games. Tristan Jarry had 33 saves.
Jordan Eberle and Brock Nelson scored for New York,
PREDATORS 4, BLUE JACKETS 2 >> Calle Jarnkrok scored in the first and third periods, Pekka Rinne made 21 saves and Nashville downed Columbus.
The Predators broke a 2-2 tie with two goals in the first 45 seconds of the third period. Jarnkrok beat Elvis Merzlikins from the slot 16 seconds in, and Filip Forsberg followed with his team-leading eighth goal off a faceoff.
HURRICANES 4, LIGHTNING 0 >> Rookie Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves in his first NHL shutout and Carolina beat Tampa Bay.
Vincent Trocheck, Sebastian Aho, Cedric Paquette and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes, who have won five of six.