The NHL has spent the past few weeks turning the picturesque 18th fairway at Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada, into an ice hockey rink. Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers will play outdoor games for the 31st and 32nd regular season of NHL history on Saturday and Sunday by the lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
“Wow,” wrote former Capitals goalkeeper Philipp Grubauer on Instagram when he first saw the rink from the stands.
Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com documented the impressive views of his Twitter and Instagram pages. His injections went viral on Thursday.
According to the NHL, the league used 20,000 gallons of water to create the two-inch ice surface, 3,000 gallons of soda to freeze the rink and 350 gallons of non-toxic paint to color the ice. 243 ice trays, each measuring 30 “x 340”, were placed under the rink at Edgewood Tahoe Resort to keep everything in place. A 300 ton refrigerated trailer that keeps the ice cool during games.
NBC will also use new technology to stream the game. While the pandemic will prevent fans from attending, the opportunity will allow NBC to experiment and try new things during its coverage.
“You will see some pictures that you have never seen at a hockey game before,” NBC director Charlie Dammeyer told NHL.com.
NBC is planning to use two drones for live video footage – similar to how FOX used drones for the Daytona 500. There will also be “a fixed-wing aircraft, robotic cameras, handheld cameras and ordinary game cameras.”
On Friday, the network tested its new equipment while teams were training on the Lake Tahoe rink for the first time.
Natural setting for the Avalanche. #NHLOutdoors pic.twitter.com/C8g4sMBoWc
– Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) February 19, 2021
During skating, a rainbow can be seen in the background as clouds spread over the mountains.
Pot o ‘Golden Knights at the end of the rainbow.
I will be here all day. #NHLOutdoors pic.twitter.com/rhhLXLzqYQ
– Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) February 19, 2021
The teams will rock their Reverse Retro t-shirts for the game. Saturday’s game will feature two Stanley Cup champions from the capitals, Philipp Grubauer (COL), Andre Burakovsky (COL) and Chandler Stephenson (VGK), who face off.
The games will mark the first games at the top of a golf course. The previous 30 NHL outdoor games were held in football stadiums (19 GP), baseball parks (10 GP) and a football stadium (1 GP).
More photos and video
Headline photo courtesy of @ cotsonika / NHL