For 29 minutes, both teams waited.
The game was tied 3-3 at second intermission, and who knows what would have happened between the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights if the third period hadn’t been delayed by nearly half an hour.
Maybe it doesn’t really matter and maybe Mitch Marner’s hat trick and five total points will be the bigger story in most markets. It solidified the Golden Knights’ place in the Pacific Division playoff picture, after all, ensuring that after the long delay Marner’s team emerged with a 6-3 win on the same night his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, was eliminated from playoff contention.
But it really was pretty strange that an issue with the ice caused the third period to be delayed for so long. At one point, officials were using a fire extinguisher to resolve it and team captains Mikael Backlund and Mark Stone were both out on the ice, presumably to approve the ice conditions behind the net, where the issue occurred.
Did it disrupt the flow and momentum of the game? You could probably argue that if you felt so inclined, but both teams were dealing with the same challenges and despite a goal from Morgan Frost and two from Blake Coleman, it was still tied going into the third.
There was no obvious advantage for either team.
The Golden Knights just came out and capitalized in the third. The Flames didn’t.
The loss doesn’t change much for the Flames’ place in the standings. They remain in 30th place in the NHL, only two points up on the Chicago Blackhawks. The good vibes from their recent six-game road trip are fading, though, especially as they’ve allowed 15 goals in their last two games.
For the Golden Knights, it gives them a little breathing room in the Pacific Division, not quite guaranteeing a playoff spot but inching them ever so close.
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