The matchup between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche has just been suspended mid-game. The Bridgestone NHL Outdoors Saturday contest was called off by officials after the first quarter, with safety concerns being identified as the primary reason for the same.

The NHL came with the following statement on the league's official website:

 In the interest of Player safety, and due to poor ice conditions resulting from extreme sun, play in Bridgestone NHL Outdoors Saturday between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche has been suspended after one period of play. The game will resume tonight at 9 p.m. PT with the expectation of completing the second and third periods, and with Colorado leading Vegas 1-0. The game will be televised on NBCSN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

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Extreme sun. Now that's not a reason that you'd usually expect for an NHL game to be suspended, but then again, we are living in unprecedented times.

Interestingly, Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer had nothing but praise for the outdoor rink in Lake Tahoe prior to the game. DeBoer even went as far as saying that the outdoor rink was “the nicest I've ever seen” (h/t Dan Rosen of NHL.com). He probably didn't see this coming.

On paper, this was supposed to be an outstanding effort by the NHL to bring some much-needed variety into the picture. They have faced a significant road bump along the way, though, so needless to say, this issue needs to be addressed first before the league's commendable effort is deemed as a smashing success.

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