BHN Daily: NHL Cancels Outdoor Boston Bruins Practice At Tahoe

So much for any preparations at all for playing outdoors at Lake Tahoe for the Boston Bruins.

Presumably due to a 3–4-inch snowfall in the area, the NHL has scrapped plans for Saturday outdoor practices for both the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers and will instead have them skate indoors at the South Lake Tahoe Ice Arena.

That means both the Flyers and Bruins won’t have any time to prepare for the outdoor rink at Lake Tahoe on Sunday afternoon aside from the half-hour pregame warm-ups directly ahead of puck drop.

That honestly stinks for both teams as every NHL player should have at least one practice to test out the ice, the boards and pretty much everything else when moving the game from indoors to the outdoor setting for an NHL game.

The NHL has already pushed back the start time for the Bruins/Flyers game from 3 pm to 2 pm ET because there “is no cloud cover” in the forecast for that afternoon, and the Flyers will be missing a large chunk of their NHL roster due to COVID-19 protocols.

Start time of Honda #NHLOutdoors Sunday changed to 11 a.m. PT. https://t.co/IFDsUp05Tm pic.twitter.com/T0DDS2Mjzj

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 19, 2021

The Boston Bruins will have injuries as well with both David Krejci and Kevan Miller not expected to play.

Things are trending for a super-sloppy game and a lopsided result based on the rosters readying to play the outdoor game, but let’s be honest: The real star is going to be the amazing backdrop that both the Bruins and Flyers will be playing in on Sunday afternoon.

Breathtaking https://t.co/l4p3XMwWNy

— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) February 19, 2021

Now on to the puck links:

*FOH (Friend of Haggs) Kevin Weekes is impressed with the start for the Chicago Blackhawks this season. Me too. I thought they’d be in for a rough year with Jonathan Toews out, but the young kids have stepped up.

A little over a quarter into this season and the @NHLBlackhawks are the most positively surprising team. PP, young players, Kane, kids in net, no Toews nor Dach- and still impressing !@NHL @NHLNetwork #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) February 19, 2021

*Everybody is lining up their Sidney Crosby reaching 1,000 games played milestone stories with Sid the Kid headed for the big, fat hockey number. (Trib Live)

*We’re all looking forward to “The Voice of Hockey” debuting Sunday on NBC as a celebration of the legendary hockey play-by-play career of my friend and colleague Doc Emrick.

You don’t become a legend without preparing like a Hall of Famer.

Doc Emrick: The Voice of Hockey debuts Sunday at 5 ET on NBC.

NBC Sports | Presented by @Discover pic.twitter.com/ojTxW1isVz

— #NHLOutdoors on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) February 20, 2021

*Pierre Lebrun has the Boston Bruins among the top suitors for Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm if he does end up getting dealt by the Preds. He’d be a great fit given his all-around game. (The Athletic)

*Will the Montreal Canadiens be big movers and shakers at the trade deadline given their strong start out of the gate this season? (TSN 690)

*All you need to know about the Panthers/Red Wings before they get ready to play today courtesy of FOH (Friend of Haggs) George Richards. (Florida Hockey Now)

*For something completely different: I could watch footage of Larry Bird torching Charles Barkley on his birthday every day of the week.

Hey Charles, tell about that time you thought you had Larry. pic.twitter.com/O4uIEdHnUD https://t.co/o7Y1JBx5Yn

— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) February 20, 2021