The 1991 outdoor

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) game in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

was an exhibition pre-season game between the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

that took place on September 27, 1991, on an outside rink built over the parking lot of the

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesars P ...

hotel and casino. This was the first official outdoor NHL game, and was part of the pre-season schedule for the

1991–92 NHL season The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 22 teams with the addition of the expansion San Jose Sharks. For the first time, the Stanley Cup Finals extended into June, with the Pittsb ...

for both teams.

Background

Rich Rose, president of Caesars World Sports and a Rangers fan, first proposed having an exhibition ice hockey game outdoors in Las Vegas in 1988. His idea was met with criticism and incredulity, but Steve Flatow, the NHL's marketing director in 1991, thought it was an intriguing idea. Flatow suggested approaching the Los Angeles Kings, whose roster included

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. With the Kings' interest, Flatow believed the Rangers would also be interested, and the game could therefore showcase high-profile teams from the two largest markets. Rose was able to convince the Kings' executive vice-president, Roy Mlakar, and the team's owner

Bruce McNall Bruce Patrick McNall (born April 17, 1950) is an American former Thoroughbred racehorse owner, sports executive, and convicted felon who once owned the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canad ...

. After that, Flatow helped Rose contact the Rangers, who agreed to play, and the event was scheduled for September 27, 1991. The temporary seats and rink cost $135,000 to erect, and were ready two days prior to the event. The ice was laid down by Bob May of Ice Systems of America, under the directions of Michael Rzechula and Robert Krolak from ITI (now Ice Rink Supply). According to May, the outside ice rink in Las Vegas was "a big challenge", using three times the refrigeration equipment as one would for a regular rink. Fabric strips were laid into the ice as opposed to the usual painted stripes. The boards featured rotating and lit advertising panels, a concept using technology that was still in its infancy but later implemented in many NHL arenas. In-board advertisers included

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

, ITT Sheraton,

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...

Thrifty Car Rental Thrifty Car Rental is an American car rental agency, headquartered in Estero, Florida, with offices in many countries around the world. Thrifty is owned by The Hertz Corporation, along with other agencies including Hertz Rent A Car and Dollar Re ...

, and

Upper Deck The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United State ...

trading cards.

The game

The air temperature at puck drop was around , going as high as during the course of the game, with 28% humidity, although the ice held up well. The Rangers started the game well, with goals by

Tony Amonte Anthony Lewis Amonte (born August 2, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played right wing over 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia ...

and

Doug Weight Douglas Daniel Weight (born January 21, 1971) is an American professional ice hockey coach, executive and former player. He is also the former head coach and assistant general manager for the New York Islanders. During his 19-year National Hockey ...

for a 2−0 lead at the end of the first period. In the second period, the Kings replied with goals by

Tony Granato Anthony Lewis Granato (born July 25, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger and current head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team. He served as head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey tea ...

Brian Benning Brian Anthony Benning (born June 10, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and ...

, and Sylvain Couturier to take a 3−2 lead at the end of the second period. The Kings added two more goals in the third period by

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named one ...

and

for a 5−2 win. The Kings were captained by Wayne Gretzky, while the Rangers had yet to name a captain for the upcoming season. The game was officiated by referee

Rob Shick Rob Shick (born December 4, 1957 in Port Alberni, British Columbia) is a retired National Hockey League referee beginning with the 1985–86 NHL season. He retired in March 2009. He wore uniform number 16 since the 1994–95 NHL season.http://w ...

, with linesmen Mike Cvik and Shane Heyer.

Broadcasting

The game was televised live on

Prime Ticket Prime Ticket may refer to: * Bally Sports West, a regional sports network that was known as Prime Ticket from 1985 to 1995 * Bally Sports SoCal Bally Sports SoCal is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint v ...

, and, due to its uniqueness, has since been repeated numerous times on other networks, such as

MSG Network The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...

and the NHL Network. During the game, Kings goaltender

Kelly Hrudey Kelly Hrudey (; born January 13, 1961) is a Canadian former National Hockey League ice hockey goaltender. He is a current hockey broadcaster with Sportsnet as an analyst for ''Hockey Night in Canada'' and the Calgary Flames as a commentator. Durin ...

wore a camera mounted on his mask, and shots from his point of view were used during the broadcast.

Cancelled second game

A second exhibition game was scheduled between the Rangers and the Kings to take place on September 29, 1991, in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The game, however, was cancelled, due to poor and unsafe ice conditions at the

Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum (which was called Charlott ...

Legacy

The outdoor preseason game in Las Vegas paved the way for the NHL to further promote the game in the city, beginning with the Kings'

Frozen Fury ''Frozen Fury'' is an annual pre-season ice hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL), held in Salt Lake City since 2021. A previous incarnation of the series was held between the Ki ...

preseason series with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

from 1997 to 2016. In 2009, the NHL moved its annual NHL Awards Night from Toronto to Las Vegas, with each event taking place at various venues within the city. In 2017, the NHL expanded to Las Vegas with the establishment of the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expan ...

franchise, playing home games at

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...

References

{{Los Angeles Kings NHL outdoor games Outdoor NHL game in Las Vegas Ice hockey in Nevada Sports competitions in the Las Vegas Valley

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...