NHL Winter Classic

The NHL Winter Classic (current sponsors name Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic ) is a swept annually since 2008 Outdoor Ice Hockey game of the National Hockey League, which takes place usually on New Year's. The games are regular season games that are played between teams selected at selected locations and adapted to the weather conditions rules. Both teams carry these games usually called Heritage Jerseys ( traditional design ) and some other accessories which are to remember the origins of the sport (eg woolly hats on the helmet ).

History

Once was erected in 2001 at a meeting between the college teams of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, a new attendance record for hockey, the National Hockey League decided first time in 2003 to discharge a regular season game outdoors. The game was played as a Heritage Classic on November 22, 2003 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta before 57 167 spectators instead. At -18 ° C, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. The Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers a preseason game on the Las Vegas Strip as early as 1991 had held before the Caesars Palace.

Since 2008, takes place annually on New Year's Day a regular NHL game as NHL Winter Classic instead. Its premiere celebrated the event in 2008 to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York at a meeting between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It followed the 2009 Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks at the Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The NHL Winter Classic 2010 took place between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts instead.

The Winter Classic in 2013 had to be canceled because of the lockout. It was planned in the 100,000 -seat Michigan Stadium between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. It would thus have been the first game with Canadian participation. The same pairing was therefore rescheduled for 2014.

Mode

In contrast to the NHL games in the hall league some minor rule changes allowed for in the open-air games, so the opportunity is given in adverse conditions for both teams. Due to the expected wind, the teams change usually halfway through the final third once again the pages so that each team played one of the two gates every 30 minutes. In the five-minute overtime due to a balanced score after 60 minutes to replace both teams after two and a half minutes once the pages. In the shootout, which occurs in a draw after overtime, the two goalkeepers can select the defensible gate itself.

Encounters

Comparable events

The NHL Heritage Classic will also be held in the open air between Canadian teams.