The NHL Winter Classic is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL). The first Winter Classic was held in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium (now Highmark Stadium) in Orchard Park, New York, between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Winter Classic is distinct from the league's 2 other series of outdoor games, the NHL Heritage Classic and the NHL Stadium Series. Originally scheduled for 1 January 2021 but postponed a year due to COVID-19, the 2022 event was held at Target Field - home of MLB team, the Minnesota Twins - featuring the Minnesota Wild taking on the St. Louis Blues.
The game brought the hype as it pulled in 1.4 million viewers on TNT, becoming the league’s most-watched regular season game of all time on cable TV and it was the most-watched NHL game on any network so far this season. For the fans in the stadium, other records were being broken as it was the coldest game in NHL history with the temperature sitting at -7°F (-22°C) at puck-drop. But the teams brought the fire with the visitors St. Louis Blues claiming a 6-4 victory despite a late push from Minnesota Wild.
The Winter Classic was a beacon of hope as there has been a flurry of postponements to fixtures throughout the league with many still waiting to be rearranged. After the NHL and NHL Players' Association announced on 21 December 2021 that NHL players will not participate in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, it is expected that the significant amount of postponed games will be rearranged to take place during the period from 4-20 February that was initially left free for the Winter Olympics.
To keep up to date with postponements and rearrangements, add ice hockey to your Koobit interests here.
There’s still plenty of games to get excited about with the NHL All-Star Weekend (4-5 February at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas) - with 4 All-Star teams based on the league's 4 divisions, competing in a single-elimination tournament following the NHL All-Star Skills Competition showing the various talents of incredible players - as well as 2 outdoor games still to come. The NHL Stadium Series (26 February at Nissan Stadium, Nashville) features Nashville Predators taking on 2021 Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning. The NHL Heritage Classic (13 March at Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton) sees the Toronto Maple Leafs compete against the Buffalo Sabres.
Let’s hope the rest of the season is a little less ice, ice, maybe, and a little more “let’s play hockey”! Check out all ice hockey games here!