As the 2018 NHL Winter Classic® approaches on January 1, NHL Network™ marks the 10-year anniversary of the first-ever outdoor regular season NHL game, featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres, in NHL Network Originals: The First NHL Winter Classic®, Hockey Goes Outside on Wednesday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Narrated by award-winning actor and Pittsburgh native Michael Keaton, the latest edition of the NHL Network Originals documentary series looks back at Sidney Crosby’s break-out performance as the Penguins’ captain, the remarkable snow globe-like atmosphere during the game, and the overwhelmingly positive response to whether an outdoor NHL® game could be pulled off.
The film features new interviews with NBC broadcasters Mike “Doc” Emrick and Bob Costas, and several players and coaches who were part of the game. Members of the 2008 Penguins, including Crosby, Colby Armstrong, Tyler Kennedy and head coach Michel Therrien, each describe what it was like to prepare for a game that counted but was also a spectacle, and ultimately ended in a thrilling shootout. The film also includes on-ice audio from Crosby, who remarked “I don’t want to get off the ice” during a practice session before the game. As the Sabres approach their second NHL Winter Classic appearance, Sabres winger Jason Pominville, former Sabres Brian Campbell and Ryan Miller and former Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff reflect on their participation in the first-ever edition, featuring Miller speaking at length on facing Crosby in the game-deciding shootout. Miller sums up the players’ thoughts on the event, saying, “Hockey deserves it. We finally kind of got that model where we’re just like, ‘Well, there’s not many of these, it’s special. You can celebrate the game the entire day.”
The documentary also explores how the success of the 2008 NHL Winter Classic established a precedent for the 21 NHL outdoor games since, including nine NHL Winter Classic® games, eight NHL Stadium Series™ games, three NHL Heritage Classic™ matchups and the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic™ following the “When I think of things I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of, that one’s right up there, just because it was the first one. You couldn’t really prepare yourself for what that was gonna be like. You only had your experience of playing outside as a kid.” Sidney Crosby on the 2008 NHL Winter Classic announcement of the inaugural NHL Winter Classic, there were concerns about holding a regular season game outside amid the elements at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New York. Throughout The First NHL Winter Classic, Hockey Goes Outside, members of the NHL Facilities Operations team, including VP Dan Craig, explain the complicated circumstances they overcame to create an ice surface suitable for an NHL game, from pouring rain as the rink was built to the heavy snow that fell throughout the game. Eventually their process developed a system for future outdoor games to follow and proved that this once-thought impossible feat could in fact be pulled off.
Local screenings for the film are scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh this Saturday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, and in Buffalo on Tuesday, December 19 at 6:00 p.m. at (716) Food and Sport.
The First NHL Winter Classic®: Hockey Goes Outside is the third installment of the documentary series NHL Network Originals, following Orchestrating An Upset: The 1996 World Cup of Hockey and Slap Shot at 40, which both premiered in the 2016-2017 NHL season.
At the 2018 NHL Winter Classic® at New York’s Citi Field between the New York Rangers and Sabres on January 1, NHL Network’s NHL Tonight™ will provide live on-field coverage before and after the game, featuring interviews and analysis from hosts Jamison Coyle, E.J. Hradek, Tony Luftman and Jackie Redmond will join with analysts including 11-year NHL veteran Mike Johnson, 2012 NHL Winter Classic game-tying goal scorer Mike Rupp and former Rangers goalie Kevin Weekes.
(Reprinted with permission of NHL.com) (NHL.com photo)
