ST. LOUIS — Although most commercial flights out of St. Louis on Tuesday were canceled because of weather that led to an official blizzard watch, the Avalanche’s chartered plane was able to take off late in the afternoon, and the team returned to Denver.
The team’s flight — in more ways than one — came in the wake of the early-afternoon decision to postpone the Avalanche’s game Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues at the Scottrade Center.
The Avs, with Peter Forsberg back on the ice, are scheduled to practice today at the Family Sports Center. They will face the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center on Thursday night.
The Blues and the Avalanche went through their morning skates Tuesday at the Scottrade Center amid an atmosphere of uncertainty. With the visiting team and game officials having arrived in St. Louis, there was considerable incentive for the game to be played if possible. Eventually, the league, in consultation with the Blues, came to the conclusion that it wasn’t.
“Due to the concerns and safety of our fans, players and staff, in conjunction with the NHL and the city of St. Louis, we have postponed tonight’s game,” Blues vice chairman and chief executive officer Mike McCarthy said on the team website.
The Avs got official word as they were on the team bus, heading back to the hotel. At the hotel, they gathered their bags and belongings, returned to the bus, and headed to the airport. The team flight took off shortly before 4 p.m. Denver time.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong communicated with NHL senior executive vice president Colin Campbell, and the decision ultimately came down to the fact that playing the game would put fans and arena workers who tried to get to the building at risk.
In St. Louis, sleet fell Monday, overnight and again Tuesday morning, leaving roads icy and treacherous. The snow began in earnest Tuesday afternoon, and the forecast was for as many as 24 inches of snow, with winds up 35 mph, creating possible whiteout conditions. By Tuesday night, the estimate was down to 8-10 inches of snow.
The Avalanche has had other postponements. Bad weather in Denver led to the postponement of the Dec. 21, 2006, Flames-Avalanche game, and it was rescheduled as the final game of the regular season, played April 8, 2007.
During a paralyzing spring snowstorm, the Avs’ scheduled March 19, 2003, home game against San Jose was postponed and made up the next afternoon.
In the Avalanche’s first season in Denver, the team’s Jan. 8, 1996, game at Boston was postponed a day because of a snowstorm.
Footnotes.
This became a moot point, but the Avs decided at the morning skate that second-year center Ryan O’Reilly, who had missed five games with a shoulder injury, wouldn’t return to the lineup against the Blues. “It’s still day to day right now, but I can’t go (Tuesday night),” O’Reilly said when the game still was on. “I could make it worse. I still can’t shoot as hard as I can, but hopefully, the next few games, I can be back in.”
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
