The Golden Knights, who are in San Jose for a two-game set against the Sharks, learned Friday that the Fairmont in San Jose was shutting down and they had to find somewhere else to stay.
Defenseman Nick Holden joked when he met with the media on Saturday that forwards Ryan Reaves and Alex Tuch probably took the longest to pack because they bring their video game consoles with them, while light traveler Alec Martinez was probably the quickest.
But their routines weren't really disrupted. They still had their pregame meal and nap as scheduled, and were told to pack their things before they left for the game, which they won 5-4 in overtime. After the game, they were taken to the new hotel.
"It was like nothing even happened for us," Holden said.
"It was a surreal experience," Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer said. "Hopefully this is the end of the COVID year, but it was almost the topping on the cake for what the last year has been for everybody in the world. Just another thing throw at you, another thing to deal with.
"Not that I'm putting it in the same breath as dealing with COVID, but it was just one of those things we got thrown at us, we dealt with it and found a way to get off to a good start, so good resiliency by our group."
NHL.com independent correspondent Danny Webster contributed to this story.
