NHL open air game in Las Vegas 1991

NHL open air game in Las Vegas 1991
date	September 27, 1991
place	Paradise , Nevada
Venue	Caesars Palace car park
spectator	13.007
Teams	Los Angeles Kings New York Rangers

The 1991 NHL Las Vegas Open Air Game was a friendly game between the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers that took place on September 27, 1991 in a parking lot in front of the Caesars Palace Hotel in Paradise , Nevada . It was the first official open-air game in the history of the National Hockey League and part of both teams' preparation for the 1991/92 season .

background

Rich Rose, then President of Caesars World Sports and NY Rangers fan, had the idea of ​​playing an outdoor game in Las Vegas back in 1988. However, his proposal initially met with criticism and disbelief until he met Steve Flatow , Marketing Director of the NHL in 1991, was enthusiastic about his idea. On Flatow's advice, Rose first submitted his plan to the LA Kings, whose roster included superstar Wayne Gretzky . With the positive feedback from the Californians, Flatow assumed that the Rangers would also be interested and that a high-profile clash in the open air between the teams from the two largest US sports and TV markets could be organized. Rose managed to convince Vice President Roy Mlakar and franchise owner Bruce McNall and then contacted the Rangers, who also agreed to attend the event.

Course of the game

The outside temperature was 29 degrees Celsius at the start of the game and reached up to 35 degrees Celsius during the game. The Rangers initially found their way into the game and took an early 2-0 lead through goals from the two rookies Tony Amonte and Doug Weight in the first period. In the second period the Kings turned the game and were the second break thanks to goals from Tony Granato , Brian Benning and the most part only in the farm team used Sylvain Couturier with 3: 2 forward. Newcomers Jari Kurri and Gretzky sealed the ultimately sovereign 5-2 success for Los Angeles in the final third. The game was broadcast live on FOX Sports transmitter Prime Ticket transfer and due to its uniqueness since then several times on other channels such. B. NHL Network , repeated. During the encounter, commented on by Kings reporters Bob Miller and Jim Fox , Los Angeles goalkeeper Kelly Hrudey wore a camera on his helmet, some footage of which was also used.

Constellations

Abbreviations:
Nat. = Nationality; Pos. = Position with C = center , LW = left wing , RW = right wing , D = defender , G = goalkeeper

Los Angeles Kings Head Coach : Tom Webster # Nat. player Item goalkeeper 36 Daniel Berthiaume G 32 Kelly Hrudey G defender 2 Brian Benning D. 77 Rod Buskas D. 22nd Charlie Huddy D. 19th Larry Robinson D. 40 Darryl Sydor D. 5 Tim Watters D. attacker 12 Sylvain Couturier LW 11 Mike Donnelly LW 15th Randy Gilhen LW 21st Tony Granato LW 99 Wayne Gretzky C. 17th Jari Kurri RW 37 Bob Kudelski C. 44 John McIntyre C. 20th Luc Robitaille LW 7th Tomas Sandström RW 18th Dave Taylor RW 25th Jim Thomson RW

New York Rangers Head Coach : Roger Neilson # Nat. player Item goalkeeper 35 Mike Richter G 34 John Vanbiesbrouck G defender 6th Joe Cirella D. 44 Pär Djoos D. 41 Peter Fiorentino D. 14th Mark Hardy D. 3 James Patrick D. 27 David Shaw D. attacker 33 Tony Amonte RW 17th Rick Bennett LW 37 Paul loaves RW 60 Louie DeBrusk LW 28 Tie Domi RW 11 Adam Graves LW 21st Jody Hull RW 19th Kris King LW 32 Corey Millen C. 9 Bernie Nicholls C. 25th John Ogrodnick RW 39 Doug Weight C.

statistics

September 27, 1991

Los Angeles Kings Tony Granato (29:15) Brian Benning (31:35) Sylvain Couturier (38:44) Jari Kurri (40:38) Wayne Gretzky (55:18)

5: 2 (0: 2, 3: 0, 2: 0)

New York Rangers Tony Amonte (2:28) Doug Weight (4:29)

Caesars Palace , Paradise Spectators: 13,007

Trivia

• Both teams did not have a few regular players for various reasons. The Kings missed defenders Rob Blake and Marty McSorley , while Rangers defender Brian Leetch and attackers Mike Gartner and Darren Turcotte were not part of the game. Also not yet seen in the Rangers jersey was center forward Mark Messier , who was only signed a few days later in exchange for Bernie Nicholls, among others, from the Edmonton Oilers .

• On September 29, 1991, both teams should meet again in Charlotte , North Carolina . This second encounter under the closed hall roof was canceled due to the bad ice conditions in the Charlotte Coliseum .

Web links

• LA Kings vs. NY Rangers, 1991 in Las Vegas on YouTube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Oral History Of 1991 NHL Outdoor Game In Las Vegas. Retrieved June 23, 2020 (American English). 
2. ↑ 25 years ago outdoor hockey made its way to Las Vegas. Retrieved June 23, 2020 (American English). 
3. ↑ Facebook, Twitter, Show more sharing options, Facebook, Twitter: Ice in Desert? It's No Mirage: Hockey: Kings, Rangers play in Caesars Palace parking lot tonight. September 27, 1991. Retrieved June 23, 2020 (American English). 
4. ↑ Facebook, Twitter, Show more sharing options, Facebook, Twitter: Kings Are Headliners for a Night: Hockey: A hot tarp accidentally drops on the rink at Caesars Palace, but the show goes on as LA beats Rangers, 5-2. September 28, 1991. Retrieved June 23, 2020 (American English). 
5. ^ Dan Sicignano: Revisiting The Rangers' First Outdoor Game. In: Blue Line Station. December 29, 2011, accessed June 23, 2020 (American English). 
6. ↑ Facebook, Twitter, Show more sharing options, Facebook, Twitter: Unsafe Ice Forces Cancellation of Kings' Game: Hockey: Playing surface in Charlotte is too cold, chips during warm-ups. September 30, 1991. Retrieved June 23, 2020 (American English).