Trivia: First NHL Neutral Site Games

Neutral site games were not uncommon in the 1990s as the NHL tried to grow the game.

But did you know that NHL's first neutral site game happened way back in 1952?

The Chicago Blackhawks home game against the Detroit Red Wings on December 6th was played in Indianapolis because the Chicago Stadium was booked. The game was originally supposed to be played on November 4th, but was postponed due to the US Presidential election. Date availability was obviously an issue for the teams and the stadium, so it was decided to move the game to a neutral site.

Detroit won the game 2-0, by the way.

Indianapolis has a long hockey history, best told here by the website Third String Goalie