A great day at Lake Tahoe, but not for hockey
Too much sun causes delay for Avs, Knights
STATELINE, Nev. — 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 at Lake Tahoe.
The NHL decided to halt the game for more than eight hours on Saturday after bright sun and temperatures hovering around freezing 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 broadcaster 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. PST and Bettman said the plan was to play the final two periods starting at 9 p.m. PST. The game resumed at 9:02.
Bettman said some players wanted to keep playing while others didn’t, but the final decision was made in consultation with the union because of safety.
“We’ve done over 30 (outdoor) games and we’ve never had a problem quite like this,” Bettman said. “We’ve played in some rain, we’ve played in snow, but sunshine has always been our enemy.”
The ice issues took away from the spectacular setting for the game, which is being played on a makeshift rink on the 18th fairway of a golf course on the shore of Lake Tahoe, with snowcovered mountains glistening in the background.
“This game was really taking the game out to its roots in terms of the surroundings,” Bettman said. “Obviously we tried to do something different in an unusual time, try and give our fans something special. … We’re going to continue to do this, but 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.”
The Avalanche led the game 1-0 on a goal by Samuel Girard.
The NHL announced that Sunday’s game at the venue between Boston and Philadelphia was pushed back to a 4:30 local start instead of 11 a.m. to avoid the bright sunshine.
In other games Saturday:
RANGERS 4, CAPITALS 1: In Washington, Alexis Lafreniere scored his second NHL goal and Artemi Panarin had two assists as New York beat Washington.
Lafreniere, the top pick in the 2020 draft, cashed in on his promotion to New York’s top line by scoring for the first time in eight games.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, CANADIENS 3: In Toronto, Auston Matthews scored twice to increase his NHLleading 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 as the NHL-leading Maple Leafs improve to 14-3-2.
SABRES 3, DEVILS 2: In Newark, N.J., Sam Reinhart scored two goals and Buffalo beat New Jersey to snap a four-game losing streak.
Defensemen Colin Miller also scored and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves for the Sabres.
RED WINGS 2, PANTHERS 1: In Detroit, Mathias Brome scored his first NHL goal late in the second period and Detroit held off Florida.
Patrik Nemeth added his first goal of the season for the Red Wings.
KINGS 4, COYOTES 2: In Glendale, Ariz., Alex Iafallo scored two goals, Cal Peterson stopped 22 shots and Los Angeles beat Arizona for its fourth straight victory.
The Kings beat the Coyotes 3-2 on Thursday.
HURRICANES 4, LIGHTNING 0: In Raleigh, N.C., rookie Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves in his first NHL shutout and Carolina beat Tampa Bay.
Vincent Trocheck, Sebastian Aho, ex-Tampa Bay player Cedric Paquette and Andrei Svechnikov scored for the Hurricanes.
PENGUINS 3, ISLANDERS 2: In Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby had two assists in his 1,000th NHL game as Pittsburgh beat New York.
Kris Letang scored twice, including a tiebreaking goal in the third period.
WILD 5, DUCKS 1: In Anaheim, Calif., Kevin Fiala had two goals and an assist, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves as Minnesota beat Anaheim to sweep the two-game set.
SHARKS 5, BLUES 4: In St. Louis, Rudolfs Balcers scored his first two goals of the season, including the tiebreaker midway through the third period, as San Jose held off St. Louis.
PREDATORS 4, BLUE JACKETS 2: In Columbus, Ohio, Calle Jarnkrok scored in the first and third periods, and Pekka Rinne made 21 saves for Nashville.