A pregame power outage delayed the start of the Sharks home opener Saturday night by about 20 minutes.
Players were warming up on the ice when the arena bowl went totally dark about 7:05 p.m. Five seconds later, the HP Pavilion generators kicked in and there was enough light for the players to continue skating, but limited power elsewhere in the building.
Fans weren't able to enter the building for a short period and the parking lot was also dark.
As efforts were being made to restore the power, Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson and Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli huddled to determine the best way to begin the game once conditions were ready.
They decided to go ahead without the normal season-opening ceremonies and national anthem because further delays might require additional warm-up time for players who had been idle nearly 50 minutes.
The two were also in contact with NHL officials in Toronto, who gave the green light to play even though the normal TV feed to league headquarters was not available.
The game began at 8 p.m., but the building's public address and music systems were not working. Both were restored about 15 minutes later, but for the first 8:13 of the first period, it was pure hockey without any of the usual game-night presentations.
...and more from the San Jose Sharks web site:
Team Teal faced one of the craziest nights in franchise history Saturday night, but it unfortunately ended up in an opening night 2-1 loss. First, the night started with an internal power outage inside HP Pavilion that delayed the contest 20 minutes. San Jose then tied a franchise record by holding Boston to zero shots in the second period. Next, with 38 seconds left in regulation, the Sharks appeared to forced overtime with a dramatic Milan Michalek goal.
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The Sharks had planned to honor Mike Ricci with an honorary faceoff before the game, but the delay ruined that opportunity. The game also began without the national anthems in an effort to make up for lost time.
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