Sharks reportedly not part of NHL's Lake Tahoe outdoor games originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Sharks are scheduled to play in St. Louis on Feb. 20, and that game evidently will stay there.
Normally, that wouldn’t be news, but Sportsnet reported Friday that multiple sources have revealed the NHL plans to have the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights play outdoor games at Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Lake Tahoe next month.
The Avalanche will face the Golden Knights (Feb. 20), and the Flyers will meet the Bruins (Feb. 21) in games played on a rink around the resort golf course’s 16th, 17th and 18th holes. Fans will not be allowed to attend, according to Sportsnet, and both games will be televised nationally by NBC.
But the Sharks, whose normal SAP Center home is just a 224-mile drive from Edgewood, will not be a part of it. At first blush, that’s a surprise, especially when you consider their proximity to Tahoe, along with the Vegas rivalry and what interest any game against the hated Golden Knights could attract. However, San Jose is coming off one of its worst seasons in franchise history, as it finished last in the Pacific Division and didn’t qualify for the NHL’s playoff restart in Canada last summer.
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The Avalanche, who instead will play Vegas, finished second in the Central Division, lost to eventual Stanley Cup finalist Dallas in the second round of the playoffs, and feature a promising lineup led by 93-point scorer Nathan McKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog.
So, any San Jose fans wanting an outdoor dust-up with Vegas might have to pin their hopes on ex-Shark Joonas Donskoi – now with the Avs – bringing the bad blood that characterizes the Pacific rivals’ often-intense meetings
