Yesterday’s outdoor game was actually pretty good.
The hockey wasn’t horribly impressive, what with the wind and the snow. While the final score was a 2-1 Pittsburgh win in a shootout, it could have just as easily been a 10-9 game. Anything on net looked like it would go in. But no one seemed able to get much on net — probably because of the snow accumulating on the ice, slowing everyone and making the puck impossible to control.
I was mostly impressed with NBC’s production. It was a top-notch, big-event, A-team game. Even Bob Costas had some hockey stories to contribute.
Still, you could almost hear the suits in New York freaking out over the constant Zamboni-ing, which left huge patches of shots of snow falling in Buffalo instead of people playing hockey.
It was a cool game, though. I’d love to see another outdoor game next season in downstate New York.