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Greg Wishynski
multiple authors
TAMPA — When the NHL scheduled its Stadium Series outdoor games for Tampa on Feb. 1, there were few certainties.
It will be held at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Buccaneers. tampa bay lightning will host boston bruinsThe two divisional rivals are battling it out for vital points. The Pirates will be there due to the annual Gasparilla festival taking place that same weekend in downtown Tampa. And based on historical weather data, the NHL can count on temperatures around 70 degrees.
The venues, teams and pirates all appeared this weekend. The Floridian heat did not happen. The forecast for Sunday’s Stadium Series game is straight out of hockey weather: Temperatures during the game, scheduled to begin around 6:30 p.m. ET, are expected to dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to watch the NHL Stadium Series on ESPN
The weather was so cold on Saturday, and the forecast for Sunday was so cold, that some Lightning players began dreaming of a winter wonderland for their outdoor games.
“Last week it was 80 or so, and it may snow at some point this week. So it’s crazy, but it’s also extremely exciting,” Lightning Center. i.e. gourde Said.
“We were talking about this yesterday: How cool would it be if it snowed in Tampa and the outdoor game happened?” Ahead nick paul Said. “You tell anyone this, they won’t believe you. So yes, if you’re a fan bundle up and have some fun.”
The Stadium Series is the second outdoor game to be played in Florida this season New York Rangers defeated Florida Panthers Jan. 2 at the Winter Classic at LoanDepot Park in Miami. The game-time temperature for the Classic was 63.1 degrees, making it the hottest Winter Classic and second-hottest outdoor game in NHL history, behind the 2016 Stadium Series game (65 degrees) at Denver’s Coors Field.
Those records wouldn’t be threatened at all on Sunday, which was a surprise to everyone involved.
“It’s crazy because I think last Feb. 1, if I remember correctly, it was 81 degrees in Tampa. So in the past, it’s typically been a cool time of year, but I don’t know if in the 13 years I’ve been in Tampa I’ve felt temperatures as cold as yesterday,” Lightning coach John Cooper said after practice Saturday.
Lightning and Bruins players appreciated the unusual weather.
“I heard it was going to be in the 30s, so hopefully it’ll probably be even colder,” Bruins defenseman Charlie McEvoy Said.
“I think the weather is perfect for this outdoor game. You don’t see it very often in Tampa. It’s going to be great. It’s going to be a little cooler, which is nice. Hopefully it’ll be good for snow,” the Tampa Bay center. Anthony Cirelli Said.
To ensure that the ice in Tampa was suitable for play, the NHL did something it had not done before for an outdoor game: put the rink inside a climate-controlled tent. The 240-foot-long, 34-foot-high steel-framed canopy is conditioned to maintain the integrity of the ice.
“Sunshine, rain and humidity are all big factors, and it will be essential to control these elements as long as possible as we continue to build ice,” said Derek King, the NHL’s vice president of hockey operations.
The snow protection structure developed a few wrinkles on practice day in the Stadium Series. Traditionally, the players’ family and friends join them for the skate after practice ends. Because the rink was isolated from the rest of the stadium – and to help maintain ice quality – this did not happen in Tampa. Teams also did not have a chance to acclimate to the sight lines and different dimensions of the outdoor rink, a process that took some time.
of boston morgan geeky He said it was a little dark under the tent, “but I think once the tarp comes off it will be cut and dried for the season and we’ll have a kind of fight on Sunday”.
Cirelli said, “It will be nice to get out there in the warmup and get a feel for what’s going on. Obviously with the tent it was a little different, unique experience.” “But I think it’ll cool it down a little bit having the fans out there. Get our good warmups, and I think we’ll be good to go.”
Many players thought the ice under the tent was good, but McAvoy thought there was room for improvement.
“It’s definitely quite intriguing. It’s really soft. We’ll see what they can do between tonight and tomorrow,” he said. “Apparently, we got it when they practiced on it. I don’t know how many people have skated on it before, but yeah, it’s not very nice. I’m sure they have plans to make it as good as they can. I wish it were colder so the ice would be better and there would be an atmosphere like an outdoor game.”
Players and coaches hoped that the unexpected “hockey weather” would have a positive impact on the playing environment. It’s not going to feel like a beach. It’s going to feel like a pond in Saskatoon.
“You need that environment to feel a little bit cooler breathing and to feel it in your lungs and things like that,” the Tampa Bay defenseman said. Ryan McDonagh Said. “The fans are also here in Tampa, we obviously have to deal with the so-called bad situation with the weather here in the winter. So a slightly cooler temperature for a hockey game should do wonders for the crowd.”
Cooper said he is excited for Lightning fans to experience something the players know well.
He said, “This game has to be played in cold weather. I think for 65,000 people… I know a lot of people coming from the North who have already experienced it, but there are a lot of people who haven’t. And for them, I’m happy, because that’s what we’ve experienced our whole lives, playing outside, on a frozen pond, until dark.”
“That’s essentially what we’re doing: playing under the lights at night. A unique, special experience. We’ve all been a part of that in our lifetime, but a lot of people who are going to be in this game haven’t done that. And I think that’s great.”
