NHL moves up outdoor game to avoid sunshine

STATELINE, Nev. — The NHL has moved up the starting time of the outdoor game Sunday between Boston and Philadelphia at Lake Tahoe by one hour to avoid the bright sunshine forecast for later in the afternoon.

The game at Edgewood Tahoe Resort will start at 11 a.m. PST instead of the originally scheduled noon local start.

The league made the announcement Thursday night, saying it was in the interest of player safety “due to Sunday’s forecast of sunlight with no cloud cover.”

The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights will play on the specially built rink Saturday, followed a day later by the Bruins and Flyers.

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby’s relentlessness remains intact 15 years later. Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan sees it every day.

The player who has helped define his team, his adopted city and his sport for a generation remains as committed to his craft as he was as a kid in Cole Harbour, N.S., firing puck after puck after puck into the dryer in his parent’s basement.

Crosby will cross another milestone tonight when he becomes the first Penguin to play in 1,000 regular-season games. More than co-owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux. More than the ageless Jaromir Jagr. More than longtime teammate Evgeni Malkin or any of the hundreds of others players who have passed through town over the last 53 years.

And at 33, Crosby isn’t coasting. There’s a chance he might not even be cresting. Fifteen games into his 16th season, Crosby remains a force at both ends of the ice. One shift he’s redirecting a shot from teammate Kasperi Kapanen — as he did to give the Penguins a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on Thursday night against the New York Islanders — the next he’s backchecking like a rookie trying to earn a spot on the roster.

“He just has an insatiable appetite to be the best and he wants to be the best and he’s willing to put the time in and make the sacrifices to try and be the best,” Sullivan said Friday.

His contract runs through 2025. He turns 38 that summer. Crosby smiled when asked if he wants to follow in the steps of former teammate Matt Cullen, who at 42 was the oldest player in the league during his final season in 2018-19. Whether he ever becomes achieves “grandpa” status as Cullen did remains to be seen.

“I feel good and I want to play as long as I can,” he said.