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Report: Snow storms might prevent refs from making it to Caps-Canes game tonight

snowyoutside

James O’Brien

The theme of today’s games might be the return of NHL hockey after a short break in the action during Christmas, but weather worries are starting to become a troubling trend as well.

First, we have the concern that the Winter Classic might face the threat of being canceled because of unseasonably warm weather in Pittsburgh (although the biggest threat might be the possibility of rain). As scary as a postponed Winter Classic might be, that’s still a situation that has time to work itself out.

On the other hand, there are some worries that a bout of snow storms that have canceled flights all around the Northeast might keep tonight’s Washington Capitals-Carolina Hurricanes game from happening.

Although the players have gotten to Carolina and seem ready to go, David Lee of Red & Black Hockey passes along speculation that the referees might not be able to make it to the game.

Like most of the eastern United States, Raleigh was hit with a snowstorm on Christmas Day. The Hurricanes canceled a season ticket holder event. The game for tonight—against the Capitals, is on. Maybe.

The Hurricanes are ready to go. The Capitals are in town and ready to go. According to twitter feeds, they’re still waiting on the referees to show up. And that could be tricky. Hundreds of flights have been delayed in New York, Washington, Baltimore, etc. I read earlier today that Delta was canceling more than 500 flights and US Air was canceling more than 300. Between the delays, the cancellations, the last minute changes, and the frustration of travel during the holiday, it could spell trouble.

For now, the plan is to play the game. No word on the arrival of the officials.

We haven’t heard any confirmation that the game might be canceled, but if it happens, we’ll let you know. This week could be a little wacky for Washington if these past two weather-related stories go from reasonable worries to legitimate problems.