Dan Craig will play a key role in determining whether the NHL’s first outdoor game in Southern California is a success or a failure. Craig is the league’s ice-making guru, the man responsible for setting up and maintaining a rink for the Kings-Ducks game Jan. 25 at Dodger Stadium. Past outdoor games have featured snow and rain and even unexpected sun that threatened to turn the ice surface into mush. That’s all been preparation for playing a game in the warmth of Southern California. Everything Craig and his crew have learned from staging games in places like Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will be put to the test when the Kings and Ducks take the ice at 7 p.m. on Jan. 25.

Craig spoke confidently Thursday about pulling it all together.

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