NHL schedule in flux as team struggles with trip to Tampa Bay due to Hurricane Milton
Saturday’s Lightning-Hurricanes game has already been postponed, but the rest of the schedule is in peril now.
On Thursday, it was confirmed that the NHL has postponed Saturday’s game between the Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena amid efforts in the Tampa Bay area to recover from the impact of Hurricane Milton. As of now, there is still no makeup date as the league will announce it as soon as it can be confirmed. That might also be because other games will be postponed.
According to the Vancouver Province, the upcoming contest between the Canucks and the Bolts in Tampa could too be postponed. Patrick Johnston reports that travels into the Tampa Bay region will be affected, and with the Canucks scheduled to face the Bolts next Tuesday, Oct. 15, the real-life hurricane may not allowed them to make it.
“Hurricane Milton is expected to land in the Tampa area Wednesday evening, bringing potentially record-setting winds, rainfall and storm surges.”
The Canucks are scheduled to fly to Florida on Sunday and practice in Tampa on Monday. This will be a situation that is watched closely to make sure everyone involved in the travel and the game are safe.
This week, photos and videos of the Tampa Bay Rays’ home stadium, Tropicana Field, have gone viral as it showed the roof getting blown off in the hurricane. Before it was confirmed that Saturday’s game between the Lightning and Canes was to be postponed, insider Chris Johnston stated that damage to the Amalie Arena is not expected to be nearly as major.
“The home of the Major League baseball team there unfortunately took a huge hit. It doesn’t sound like there’s anywhere near that kind of damage to Amalie Arena, so I don’t expect that will be significant part of the decision making,” Johnston said. “but the storm did hit a little harder in St. Petersburg. So, don’t have a full report on exactly the state of Amalie Arena at this point and time, but it doesn’t sound like it got through the storm in too bad of shape.”
The Lightning will play the Hurricanes in Raleigh in the opening game of the season for both teams later tonight. As of now, despite Patrick Johnston’s report and apprehension, the Bolts remain scheduled to host the Canucks on Tuesday.
