The full announcement is below, but as first reported by Elliotte Friedman earlier this month, the LA Kings and Colorado Avalanche will meet for a Stadium Series game at Falcon Stadium on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs next season. The event, which will be held on February 15, 2020, will mark the second time a Stadium Series game has been held at a U.S. Service Academy, following Washington’s 5-2 win over Toronto at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland in 2018.
Los Angeles has split a pair of Stadium Series games, losing 3-0 to the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium five years ago today on January 25, 2014, and defeating the San Jose Sharks 2-1 at Levi’s Stadium on February 21, 2015. Colorado hosted a Stadium Series game at Coors Field in Denver on February 27, 2016 and lost, 5-3, to the Detroit Red Wings. With the announcement that the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas will play host to the 2020 Winter Classic between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, all four participants announced today are Western Conference teams.
Los Angeles’ selection in this event shows that even on the precipice of roster reconstruction amidst a trying season competitively, ownership and the organization’s executive and operational branches retain very tangible clout across the league. With Philip Anschutz’s ties to Colorado Springs and stable ownership, and the pull by the club’s large-scale event and game operations, the Kings have hosted the 2010 NHL Draft, the 2017 All-Star Game and have participated in the Europe-based NHL Premiere in 2007 and 2011 and the NHL China Games in 2017. Los Angeles also traveled to Colorado Springs’ Broadmoor World Arena for a preseason game against Colorado in October, 2014.
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Drew Doughty is taking part in the NHL Accuracy Shooting contest at today’s All-Star Game, the drill that was replicated in many of our hallways and playrooms when we stacked blocks and taped paper plates to goals to imitate NHL players while watching the skills competitions of our youths. While it might be tall order for Drew to beat the likes of Auston Matthews and David Pastrnak in this event, I’d like to see any other 2019 NHL All-Star defend a two-on-one against Matthews and Pastrnak like Doughty. The rules:
Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™
Eight players will compete in the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™, a timed event where a shooter is positioned 25 feet from the goal line and shoots pucks at five LED targets located in the net. On the referee’s whistle, one of the five LED targets will randomly light up for three seconds and the player will attempt to hit the lit target. Hit targets will be taken out of the random sequencing and if the target is not hit within three seconds, the next target will light up. The clock stops when the player has successfully hit all five targets, the player that hits all five targets in the fastest time will be crowned the winner of the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting™. If there is a tie for the fastest time, the tied players will compete again to determine the winner.
Demonstrated by:
Kendall Coyne, U.S. Women’s National Team
Renata Fast, Canada’s Women’s National Team
Participants:
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
The National Hockey League announced today that the Colorado Avalanche will face-off against the LA Kings in the 2020 NHL Stadium Series™.
Earlier this month, the NHL announced that the Colorado Avalanche would host the 2020 NHL Stadium Series™ on Feb. 15, 2020 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs.
The 2020 NHL Stadium Series will mark the third regular-season outdoor game for the Kings and the second for the Avalanche.
“It’s exciting for sure,” Drew Doughty said. “I don’t know a lot about the Air Force and so I’m excited to maybe go in there early and experience it. Playing in the game will be really cool. Might be hard with the altitude and Colorado’s a good team so it’s going to be a good matchup. Always excited for outdoor games.”
The Kings hosted the 2014 NHL Stadium Series, a 3-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and travelled to Santa Clara for the 2015 NHL Stadium Series at Levi’s Stadium, where they defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-1.
The Avalanche hosted the 2016 NHL Stadium Series at Coors Field in Denver, a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
The game at Falcon Stadium will mark the second time the NHL has brought the NHL Stadium Series™ to a U.S. Service Academy following the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs matchup at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland in 2018.
“It is an honor to represent the NHL at this special event in Colorado Springs. The Air Force Academy has an incredible tradition and we are thrilled to take part in the first hockey game at Falcon Stadium,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said. “We believe our fans will look forward to attending the game and watching the game on TV in what will truly be a very memorable event and moment in LA Kings history.”
Standing in the base of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, Falcon Stadium opened on Sept. 22, 1962, when a then-overflow crowd of 41,350 saw Air Force defeat Colorado State 24-0. The stadium was originally built solely for football, but lacrosse plays all of its home matches in the stadium, which is also the site of the Academy’s annual graduation.
The 2020 NHL Stadium Series™ will be the first-ever outdoor hockey game held at Falcon Stadium.
The 2020 NHL Stadium Series™ will showcase a host of the top talent in the NHL. The Avalanche are led by 2019 NHL All-Stars Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog. The Kings counter with All-Star defenseman Drew Doughty, captain Anze Kopitar and goaltender Jonathan Quick.
The Avalanche (1996 and 2001) and Kings (2012 and 2014) are both two-time Stanley Cup champions.
The two franchises have met 134 times in the regular-season, with Los Angeles holding a 25-point edge over Colorado/Quebec since the 1979-1980 season (Colorado/Quebec 56-63-15-127, Los Angeles 70-52-12-152).
Additional details relating to the 2020 NHL Stadium Series™, including ticketing and broadcast information, will be released at a future date.
–Photo via U.S. Air Force/Trevor Cokley
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