The Rangers and Islanders remain on schedule to battle for the championship of the Arctic Vortex Division Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, even with the forecast of frigid weather conditions.
Even though the clubs meet again indoors on Broadway two nights later, the NHL did not give consideration to seeking a flip in venues. Such a move might not even have been possible, given Wednesday’s scheduled concert at the Garden featuring Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch.
Temperatures are forecast to be in the low double-digits for the start of the NHL’s third night-time outdoor extravaganza and expected to dip during the match.
The coldest NHL game on record — the true Ice Bowl — took place in Edmonton on Nov. 22, 2003, when it was minus-two for the 7 p.m. start of the Canadiens-Oilers Heritage Classic.
The 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh in which the Caps defeated the Penguins 3-1 (and in which Sidney Crosby was concussed by Dave Steckel) began at 8 p.m. following what essentially was a seven-hour rain delay. This past Saturday’s game at Dodger Stadium between the Ducks and Kings had a faceoff just after 7 p.m. local time.
It was 25 degrees for the faceoff of Sunday’s 7-3 Rangers’ victory over the Devils at the Stadium, nearly twice as warm as it was for the start of the Jan. 1 Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich., for which it was 13 degrees for the faceoff between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings.
An NHL spokesman told The Post via email the league has contingency plans for all outdoor games that generally call for postponement by one day if faced with “an unplayable situation.”
The predicted cold weather would not be regarded as one of those situations.
Though the Rangers have the experience of having previously played at the Stadium, coach Alain Vigneault doesn’t believe it will provide his team with an advantage for the match against the Islanders.
“I think for our group, it’s going to be another good experience in an 82-game schedule,” said one-day-at-a-time Vigneault. “But I think if I’m from Long Island, and I’m a player and coach and member there, I’m going to feed off this first opportunity for them.
“I don’t see an advantage for one team or the other.”
Dan Girardi had the least amount of ice time on Sunday among Rangers right defensemen, getting 18:15 to Anton Stralman’s 19:49 and Kevin Klein’s 19:01. … Rick Nash, who scored his 11th goal in the last 11 games, played a sum of 14:59, the fourth time this year the winger has gotten under 15 minutes, not including the Oct. 8 match in San Jose in which he was concussed in the first period. …
There is no progress in talks regarding potential contract extensions for pending unrestricted free agents Girardi and Ryan Callahan, with wide gulfs existing between the Rangers and both players.
Pending restricted free agent Mats Zuccarello, who scored twice on Sunday to boost his total to 15 goals, is in line for a massive arbitration pay hike over his current $1.15 million contract. Zuccarello would become eligible for 2015 unrestricted free agency if he were to go through salary arbitration.
A raffle to benefit the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation, at which tickets are priced at $2 apiece, remains open until 2 p.m. Tuesday. The winner of the drawing will receive two tickets to Wednesday night’s game at Stadium in addition to an autographed Lundqvist Stadium Series jersey, an autographed game-used stick, a postgame meet-and-greet, and two tickets to the Feb. 12 Knicks-Kings game at the Garden.