The Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals will face off in the 2018 NHL Stadium Series matchup at Navy’s Memorial Stadium Saturday despite the storm currently pummeling the East Coast.
At first, the worry heading into the 2018 NHL Stadium Series matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals was that the weather would be too warm for an outdoor hockey game.
The high temperatures in Annapolis on Saturday were predicted to be in the 50s.
But that was no worry, because Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is located smack dab next door to a “53-foot, 300-ton capacity refrigeration unit that houses the ice plant used to make the NHL-caliber sheet of ice for the outdoor game,” per the Washington Post.
However, now the NHL likely wishes that warm temps were the only weather-related hurdle facing its annual Stadium Series game, part of Hockey Weekend Across America.
Per The Associated Press via NBC Sports, the sustained winds of 15 to 20 mph, gusting into 30 mph, were so bad on Friday that both the Leafs and the Capitals had to practice indoors.
“The glass had to be removed from the on-field rink because of safety concerns,” per the AP.
But the show will go on as scheduled:
Saturday's outdoor Stadium Series game between the Capitals and Maple Leafs is still on despite a high wind warning for the mid-Atlantic area. https://t.co/Ps9Azc2vjw
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 3, 2018
Needless to say, NHL teams aren’t used to playing in the elements. It’s been a long time since these guys played a game on a frozen pond. The Capitals are undefeated in their two previous outdoor appearances, but that says nothing about their fitness to play better than the Leafs in 20-plus mph winds.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Leafs take on the Caps in the 2018 Stadium Series.
2018 NHL Stadium Series TV and Livestream
Date: Saturday, Mar. 3
Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live Stream: Fubo.TV
The 36-21-7 Capitals head into the matchup in first place in the Metro Division. The Maple Leafs, sitting at 39-20-7, currently sit in third place in the Atlantic Division.