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Weather delays Panthers-Blackhawks game

Seattle Snow

Ken Cunningham shovels his sidewalk during a snowstorm in Seattle, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. Several inches of snow fell quickly Sunday morning, snarling traffic and clogging roadways. Cunningham said he moved to the area from Chicago, so he knows how to deal with snow, but he added that snow plows are out almost immediately in that city when the snow flies. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

AP

In its purest form, hockey is an outdoor sport, but the Winter/Heritage Classic is usually the only time weather forecasts matter to the NHL.

That being said, fans need to actually get to the games, so sometimes especially inclement weather can cause some issues. That’s the case with the rough patch of snow storms that hit Chicago on Friday, as the Blackhawks will need to push back their reunion with Blackhawks Southeast (aka the Florida Panthers) to a 9 pm ET start time.

Ultimately it’s just a half hour difference, but it’s a wise move to give people extra time to brave the Chicago climate in order to get to the United Center.

Whenever I hear about these weather situations, I cannot help but think back to the story of New Jersey storms that forced Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac to sleep in Elias’ car while idling on a frozen highway.

(Editor’s note: it was 71 degrees today where I live. Sorry for the weather trolling.)