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An NHL preseason hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins scheduled for Saturday night has been postponed because of an apparent maintenance issue with the Pens’ Delta Air Lines charter flight.
An airline source confirmed that Delta #8954 from Pittsburgh (PIT) to Detroit (DTW) was scheduled to depart Saturday afternoon for the night’s game. (According to FlightAware data, the Boeing 757-200 arrived in Pittsburgh early Saturday morning.) The game was scheduled for a 7:00 PM EDT puck drop in the Motor City. But that was delayed to 8:30 PM.
Around 7:00 PM EDT, both teams announced on Xitter (our name for X, formerly known as Twitter) that the game was postponed — and specifically mentioned the travel problems.
An update on tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/5HmXbOsYG5
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 28, 2024
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 28, 2024
You might wonder, Why didn’t the Penguins travel on Friday? In my years as an #AvGeek and sports fan, I’ve noticed that it’s not uncommon for some NHL and NBA teams to commute to/from a host city on the same day as a preseason game. (If the game is within, say, an hour or so’s flight time.) Teams travel with more players than they do during the regular season, so it saves a few bucks on hotel rooms. (NFL teams travel with a lot more equipment and players than their other major sports counterparts and tend to fly to preseason games the same as they do during the regular season.)
Plus, there’s always that saying, “It’s preseason! The games don’t matter!” (I’m sure people playing for roster spots have something to say about that.)
During the regular season, I believe there are rules that teams need to be in away-game cities somewhere between 18 and 24 hours before a game start time. I believe we have some college and pro scouts and coaches who read the blog. Perhaps they can weigh in here.
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