“All parties involved agree that the differences in rink dimensions are negligible and should not affect either safety or the quality of the game,” the IIHF wrote. The parties involved include the federation, the NHL and the players’ union.
The rink will be 60 meters long and 26 meters wide – the same size as when the NHL played in the Avicii Arena in Stockholm. In the North American league, the rink dimensions are 60.96 meters long and 26.9 meters wide.
"While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF rules and match the rink size used at the 2022 Beijing Olympics," the federation writes.
Swedish NHL star Mika Zibanejad says he probably wouldn't notice any difference.
And now you'll probably get a lot of responses from players who might be overthinking it all, he tells The Athletic.
The first Olympic match to be played in the Santagiulia arena will be the meeting between Italy and France in the women's hockey tournament on February 5, the day before the Olympic opening ceremony.
