The second outdoor hockey game of the year took place in the cold Rockies. The Los Angeles Kings hit the road to Colorado Springs for the NHL Stadium Series to meet with host, the Colorado Avalanche at the Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium. In front of a full house of 43,574 attendees at an elevation of 6,621 feet, taking the lead from 5,280 feet in the previous game in 2016. This stadium game was the 11th in its series.
It made for a jam-packed with action and music! Country superstar Sam Hunt took the stage and performed his Billboard Hot Country track, “Body Like A Back Road”.
Like many hockey games, there was action from start to finish. Starting with a one of a kind ceremonial puck drop. A military working dog, Grizzly, met with L.A Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar and Colorado Avalanches’ captain Gabriel Landeskog to drop the game puck.
This game was the Kings’ third outdoor stadium game and Avalanches’ second appearance. Both teams were sporting new gear for this series. Kings switched it up with shiny chrome helmets and both teams went with new sweaters for the event.
Tension rose quickly in Colorado when Kings’ Tyler Toffoli scored the first goal of the game six minutes before the end of the first period. Los Angeles had a great start and a goal lead as they went into the second period of the game. The Avalanche were almost scoreless in the second, but Samuel Girard had other plans for the team, scoring the first goal for Colorado.Â
Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer suffered an injury when teammate Ian Cole’s rear end collided with him in the third period. As Grubauer slowly left the ice, backup Pavel Francouz was placed in net for the remainder of the game. At this point, it is still unclear how long Philipp will be out.
Already this game was the most challenging due to the 6,621 feet of elevation of the game and the temperature too. Starting at a chilly 31 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping to 21 by the third period. But that didn’t stop the star of the game, Tyler Toffoli from adding heat to the game.
Scoring the second goal of the night just two seconds after Kopitar helped by winning the face-off. This seemed like a very close game until this goal. With the last minute of the game and an empty net on Colorado’s side, the Avalanche fought to prevent the Kings from scoring on their goaltender less net. The last-minute of regulation and with 0.4 seconds until the game came to a close, Toffoli scored on that empty net. He scored the first hat trick in outdoor hockey history! The Kings are definitely feeling like Kings after that win.Â
Final score 3-1, Kings.
