Thanks to rising desert temperatures, the Stanley Cup Final in Vegas is on thin ice, literally.
Temperatures in Las Vegas are expected to hit triple digits on Wednesday outside T-Mobile Arena before the Game 2 Final game between the Golden Knights and Washington Capitals.
Should that happen, the NHL will likely see the hottest outdoor temperature ever recorded at a Final game – as well as a rink full of slushy, melting ice.
Throughout the playoffs, the heat outside T-Mobile has made it difficult for arena workers tasked with maintaining the ice to do their job, resulting in weird bounces and odd slides during play.
While the quality of the ice isn’t going to result in any games being postponed, it is something both teams have to gameplan for. But, as both sides have said, at least it’s a level playing field.
“It’s the same for both teams, which is why it doesn’t matter,” Vegas forward James Neal said. “It’s still the same game for everybody. Of course, everybody would like to play on perfect ice, but that doesn’t happen at this time of year.”
Following Game 2, Game 3 will be played Saturday in Washington. Vegas leads the series 1-0.
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