Predators and Lightning Forced to Cancel Game Due to Safety Risks
The Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning were forced to cancel their preseason game due to inclement weather in Florida on Sunday with no makeup date.
Around mid-afternoon on Sunday, the Nashville Predators announced on X that their preseason game against the Tampa Bay Lightning was canceled due to pending inclement weather in the area:
The two teams were due to meet for their final preseason game before they kick off the season; Nashville on October 10th against Dallas and Tampa Bay against Carolina, part of a back-to-back home-at-home series with the Hurricanes. It's unknown if the NHL will reschedule the game with the season right around the corner, but given these teams have a few more days before they start it could be made up in the coming days.
While unfortunate for fans who were no doubt excited to see the possibility of Steven Stamkos' return to Tampa Bayafter signing with Nashville this offseason, it's the smartest course of action for both teams as well as the NHL. It's only a preseason game and the safety of both the players and fans is more important, bar none.
The NHL has canceled games before, even a century ago
It's not the first time a game has been canceled due to weather conditions, as a game in 1995 between the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings was postponed due to a flood in the area. Three games were postponed in 2016 because of an Eastern cold snap that brought severe weather conditions to places like New York and New Jersey. In 1924, the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators had a game postponed due to a blizzard, the first incident of 72 weather-related cancellations throughout the league's history.
It's unfortunate that these teams couldn't get their final game in, but the safety of everyone will always supercede a preseason contest.
If you, or anyone you know is in the Tampa Bay area, please be safe, listen to evacuation instructions, and check on your neighbors if possible.
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