It takes a certain kind of person to wish for clouds on a beautiful, sunny day.

A professional hockey player.

“I wish it was dark and cloudy and colder,” the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon mused. “The ice would be a little bit better.”

Ice quality, despite everyone’s best and practiced efforts, is up to Mother Nature as the Avalanche meet the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday on the 18th hole of Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Nevada.

It’s for the fans watching from home, but it’s for the players and staff as well.

“You were out there with the guys, having fun on an outdoor rink,” captain Gabriel Landeskog, a veteran of two NHL outdoor games, said after practice Friday. “It was a blast.”

MacKinnon might get his wish. A fresh blanket of snow should add to the majestic scenery with one to three inches expected in the area overnight. The high Saturday is just above freezing under partly cloudy skies.

“Should be a pretty cool scene tomorrow,” Landeskog said.

Before practice, the Avalanche took a team picture in their reverse retro jerseys that feature the Quebec Nordiques logo and color scheme. They then switched to their usual jerseys.

Coach Jared Bednar likened it to a pregame skate with emphasis on special teams and appreciating the moment.

“Just wanted the guys to get out and feel the puck,” he said. “Give them a bunch of time to do some shooting and passing and just kind of have a good time and take in the scenery and enjoy the moment here today.”

There’s time for admiring a setting straight off a calendar cover, but there are also two standings points on the line. Those could eventually matter quite a bit between two well-matched teams jockeying at the top of the West Division. Bednar called it a “good early-season measuring stick.”

The Avalanche and Golden Knights split a pair of one-goal games earlier this week.

“Every game we’ve played is tough,” MacKinnon said. “It’s hard, defensive hockey. Guys grind and it’s kind of a playoff feeling throughout the whole season.”

Just like Christmas

Most of the players made available to the media have said this is their first time visiting Lake Tahoe. Avalanche forward Joonas Donskoi has made the trip more than once, spending Christmas there while playing for the San Jose Sharks.

“Never did I think we would play here one day,” Donskoi said.

Injury update

Plans have clearly changed for Samuel Girard. Just yesterday it was said Girard would resume skating over the weekend, but the defenseman was out in his reverse retro jersey Friday and is now available, according to Bednar. He and Hunter Miska are no longer on the COVID protocol-related absences list. No Colorado player was listed Friday.

Bednar called Cale Makar (upper body) a game-time decision for Saturday.

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