We're a long way off from Game 7 between the Lightning and Rangers -- Game 4 is to be played Tuesday night -- but Madison Square Garden has a bit of contingency planning to do.
A Game 7 date between Tampa Bay and New York would potentially be played on June 14 in New York at MSG, which directly conflicts with a Justin Bieber concert set for that date.
It's kind of like overbooking for one night, except it affects nearly 21,000 people who paid to see the person overbooking.
If the Lightning-Rangers series goes seven games, Game 7 is scheduled to be played at Madison Square Garden on June 14.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 6, 2022
Justin Bieber is scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden on June 14.
I enjoy anarchy like this.
This isn't the first time this year we've seen this happen. The Pelicans had to postpone a No Limit concert at the Smoothie King Center by one night when they (surprisingly) made the NBA playoffs.
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In a more comparable example, the Astros rescheduled a Taylor Swift concert in 2015 when they were in the midst of a playoff run. And if the Astros can reschedule a Taylor Swift concert on the 1989 World Tour, any concert can be rescheduled.
James Dolan, of course, owns the Rangers and he's the executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports, so the only "conflict" is how much Bieber would care about getting his concert date moved.
In the meantime, Lightning-Rangers will move back to New York for Game 5 after Tuesday's Game 4 in Tampa Bay, as the Lightning try to draw even in the series. The last two games have finished 3-2 after a Rangers blowout in Game 1, so there's a decent chance this series ends up coming down to the wire.
