Penguins President & CEO David Morehouse said that after initially "nixing the idea" of a viewing party around a big screen outside Consol Energy Center for Game 1 of Rangers-Penguins tonight, team officials "reversed course within 24 hours after fans took to Facebook and Twitter," according to Lexi Belculfine of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Morehouse: "Our original decision was that we wouldn’t be able to do it because of the construction, but interest in a big screen from our fans and Mayor (Bill) Peduto was so overwhelming that we came up with this solution." Morehouse added that neither the NHL nor NBC "put a stopper on the game's outdoor screening." He said, "That could be something that comes up in later rounds. We’ll see what happens in the subsequent games, if we’re lucky enough to make it to later rounds in the playoffs." Belculfine notes the 9-by-16-foot video board is presented by First Niagara (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 4/13).
FLOODING THE THREE RIVERS: In Pittsburgh, Jason Cato notes Tigers-Pirates and Rangers-Penguins "will clash" with an appearance by Donald Trump "in time and proximity." Trump's rally at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center starts at 7:00pm ET. First pitch at PNC Park across the Allegheny River on the North Shore "occurs five minutes later," and the puck drops at Consol Energy Center at 8:00pm. Trump's campaign team said that its event is "expected to draw up to 7,500 people." The Pirates "anticipate in excess of 24,000 fans, and the Penguins expect a sellout of about 18,400." Thousands more fans without tickets "could gather outside Consol Energy Center" to watch Rangers-Penguins on the outdoor videoboard (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 4/13).
