Video: NHL's 1st Outdoor Lake Tahoe Game Provides Breathtaking Views

The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented the majority of NHL teams from having fans present in 2021, but the league made the most of the situation by putting together a pair of picturesque outdoor games at Lake Tahoe, the first of which was between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

As seen in the following video, the rink is located next to the lake in Stateline, Nevada, with mountains and beautiful views of nature populating the background:

Here are some additional photos of the setup:

Lake Tahoe is a popular tourist attraction located on the border of California and Nevada, and few could have predicted an NHL game would take place there.

Given that there was no need for seating without fans in attendance, however, it became the perfect location for the NHL to provide those watching from home with a never-before-seen game.

The NHL has held many outdoor contests over the years, with the first being the NHL Heritage Classic in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 2003. The first Winter Classic occurred just outside Buffalo, New York, in 2008, and it has taken place nearly every year since then.

While the Winter Classic and NHL Stadium Series games usually have 40,000 or more fans in attendance, Saturday's Lake Tahoe game provided viewers with something closer to a pond-hockey atmosphere, as it was in the middle of nature with no fans looking on.

To make the scenes even better, the Avs and Golden Knights are among the best teams in the NHL, and one of them could well make it to the Stanley Cup Final by season's end.

The fun in Lake Tahoe won't end Saturday, though, as the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers will clash in an outdoor game on the same rink Sunday.