 The scheduling was a result of Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, which shut down the NHL for two weeks, facilitating General Motors Place's use for ice hockey during the games.It marked the first time that an NHL market hosted an Olympics since the league allowed its players to compete in the games, beginning with the 1998 Games in Nagano.Among the several Canucks players named to their respective national teams, centre Ryan Kesler of the United States and goaltender Roberto Luongo of Canada played against each other in the gold medal game; Luongo and Team Canada emerged with the win.