National Hockey League: Stanley Cup Finals
LAS VEGAS (AP) After just one game, its already clear this Stanley Cup Final is on thin ice. Thin, patchy, slushy, rut-riddled ice.
The Vegas Golden Knights have shocked the sporting world by playing for a championship in their inaugural season. But their incredible playoff run has taken them straight into summer in the Mojave Desert, where temperatures routinely soar past 100 degrees from May to October.
With sizzling heat outside and a frenzied sellout crowd inside, T-Mobile Arenas ice melted into an inconsistent playing surface for the Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals in the series opener.
Despite constant sprucing from attendants during timeouts, both teams chased the puck through dozens of weird bounces and unpredictable slides while Vegas rallied for a 6-4 victory.
It was pretty bad, Washington forward Jay Beagle said. Its so hot outside, so its not like its a surprise.
And its about to get worse: The mercury on the Strip could hit triple digits Wednesday for Game 2, when the league is likely to see its hottest outdoor temperature ever recorded at a Final game.
But before any Canadians develop heatstroke at the prospect of their national game being played in a Nevada swimming pool, players on both teams were eager to make it clear the Vegas ice is absolutely playable.
Its the same for both teams, which is why it doesnt matter, Vegas forward James Neal said. Its still the same game for everybody. Of course, everybody would like to play on perfect ice, but that doesnt happen at this time of year.
Middling ice quality can be a fact of life year-round in NHL rinks, particularly for the Sun Belt teams from Anaheim to Miami, yet their players still thrive. Its common to see ice deterioration in rinks at various latitudes when temperatures rise while the NHL playoffs roll through spring.
The Capitals are well aware they wont skate onto a pristine Nordic pond when they return to Capital One Arena for Game 3 on Saturday not with 85-degree temperatures and 70-percent humidity in the Washington forecast.
Its probably the time of the year where its pretty hard to keep the ice fresh, Washington forward Evgeny Kuznetsov said. But both teams play on the same ice.
Both coaches used the Vegas ice quality to emphasize points in their game plan that would probably be important on any surface. Washingtons Barry Trotz and Vegas Gerard Gallant want a north-south approach with crisp passes, minimal puck-handling and no turnovers.
Its all easier said than done when the puck refuses to behave.
The pucks were bouncing pretty
good, Trotz said.
