2011 NHL Winter Classic

The 2011 Winter Classic was the second time the Penguins participated in an outdoor NHL game; the team previously visited the Buffalo Sabres for the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008.^[4] Most notably, the Classic pitted two recent number-one draft picks against each other: Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin (2004) and Penguins center Sidney Crosby (2005); both players entered the league in the same year, 2005, due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout and contributed to a rivalry between the two teams that has been growing since the early 1990s. During the game, Crosby suffered a concussion from a collision, causing him to miss significant playing time over the next year.

Uniforms

At the event, the teams wore vintage uniforms based on Reebok's "Edge" template. The visiting Capitals wore a replica of their inaugural 1974–75 white uniform which they wore through the 1994–95 season, with red helmets.^[5] The uniforms would remain the Capitals alternate until 2015, when they were replaced by their red counterpart.

The Penguins wore new uniforms, based on those of their inaugural 1967–68 season; the navy and baby blue colors were reversed, and the jerseys featured a crest of their original skating penguin logo, in place of the diagonal letters. The jerseys would replace the team's previous throwbacks from the 2008 Winter Classic as their alternate uniforms, but would subsequently be dubbed the "Blue Jerseys of Doom" after Sidney Crosby suffering a career-altering concussion in the Winter Classic, which ended Crosby's season at the half-way mark. The bad luck with the jersey continued, as Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal all suffered injuries in other games wearing the uniforms. Three days after Crosby sustained a broken jaw wearing the blue jerseys in 2013, the uniform was permanently mothballed and the Penguins opted to wear their standard black uniforms in their remaining games they were scheduled to wear the blue jerseys.^[6]

Delayed start time

The game had originally been scheduled for 1:00 p.m., but due to concerns about rain, on December 31 the game was shifted to an 8:00 p.m. start.

As New Year's Day approached weather forecasts solidified that by late afternoon the Pittsburgh region would be cooling to the 40s and eventually 30s, and major precipitation would be over by early evening for the duration of the weekend.[9] As it turned out, the few fast-moving bands of light rain in the area had no effect on the surface, and no problems were reported.

Pre-game

Canadian singer and former

Capitals goalie Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves in the win. After a scoreless first period, the Penguins scored first early in the second period with Evgeni Malkin's goal. Washington then scored three unanswered goals, one by Mike Knuble and two by Eric Fehr, to win the game.^[10]

Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season

Team rosters

Washington Capitals[11] # Player Position 1 Semyon Varlamov G 4 John Erskine D 8 Alexander Ovechkin (C) LW 16 Eric Fehr RW 19 Nicklas Backstrom (A) C 21 Brooks Laich LW 22 Mike Knuble (A) RW 23 Scott Hannan D 25 Jason Chimera LW 26 Matt Hendricks LW 27 Karl Alzner D 28 Alexander Semin RW 30 Michal Neuvirth[1] G 39 Dave Steckel C 52 Mike Green D 55 Jeff Schultz D 74 John Carlson D 83 Jay Beagle RW 85 Mathieu Perreault C 90 Marcus Johansson C Head coach: Bruce Boudreau

Pittsburgh Penguins[12] # Player Position 1 Brent Johnson[2] G 3 Alex Goligoski D 4 Zbynek Michalek D 5 Deryk Engelland D 7 Paul Martin D 9 Pascal Dupuis RW 10 Mark Letestu C 11 Jordan Staal (A) C 14 Chris Kunitz LW 17 Michael Rupp C 24 Matt Cooke RW 25 Maxime Talbot LW 27 Craig Adams RW 29 Marc-Andre Fleury G 44 Brooks Orpik (A) D 45 Arron Asham LW 48 Tyler Kennedy RW 58 Kris Letang D 71 Evgeni Malkin (A) LW 87 Sidney Crosby (C) C Head coach: Dan Bylsma

^ Brent Johnson dressed for the Pittsburgh Penguins as the back-up goalie and did not enter the game.
^ Michal Neuvirth dressed for the Washington Capitals as the back-up goalie and did not enter the game.

Scratches

• Washington Capitals: Tom Poti, Tyler Sloan
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Eric Godard, Chris Conner, Ben Lovejoy

Officials

• Referees — Paul Devorski, Stephen Walkom
• Linesmen — Pierre Champoux, Derek Amell

Broadcasting

The 2011 Winter Classic was televised in the United States by

Due to the delay, CBC's regularly-scheduled Hockey Night in Canada game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators was only shown in its entirety for viewers in Ontario, with the remainder of the country breaking away for the Winter Classic at 8:00 p.m ET. CBC stations in Alberta subsequently broke away from the Winter Classic at 10:00 p.m. ET to begin coverage of the Calgary Flames/Edmonton Oilers game. CBC Sports live streamed all three games on its website.^[15]

Legends Game

The NHL Legends Game was played on December 31 in the morning. The game, which featured notable alumni from both the Penguins and the Capitals, was played in two 20-minute periods and ended in 5–5 tie. Penguins goals were scored by Rob Brown, Rod Buskas, Craig Simpson, Jay Caufield and Ron Francis. Mario Lemieux had two assists, Paul Mulvey of the Capitals had two goals, while Alan May, Mark Lofthouse and Peter Bondra scored one each. Bondra's goal tied the game with 45 seconds remaining and the game ended in a tie, as it did not have overtime or a shootout.^[16][17]

The Penguins alumni wore the 1968–72 styled powder blue jerseys, Pittsburgh's former third jersey that was introduced in the 2008 Winter Classic. The Capitals alumni wore Washington's current home red jerseys.

Several complaints were made by the fans in attendance. Prior to the game starting, there were complaints regarding the sale of the tickets to game, which went on sale at 10:00 a.m. on December 17, 2010 for $25 a piece. Only 10,000 tickets were available for sale by the NHL, while Heinz Field has a capacity of over 68,111 seats for hockey. Many fans who tried to obtain tickets from

The most vocal complaints were reserved for the time it took for many fans to get inside the stadium. Well into the first period of the two-period game, people reportedly still were entering Heinz Field. This was due to the stadium having only one open gate that morning, Gate B. Several fans further stated that not all the turnstiles were being used, a claim disputed by the Steelers, who spoke on behalf of stadium operations. Some confused fans also waited for other gates to open, which never happened.[19]

Some spectators also complained that the game ended in a 5–5 tie with no overtime or shootout. Penguins alumnus Phil Bourque said after the game that "I think everybody's a little disappointed that we didn't get to the shootout, because it would have been great to see Mario. Pittsburgh would have gone with all Hall of Famers, of course, in our shootout group." Penguins alumni coach Eddie Johnston later stated that his shootout plan consisted of having Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Larry Murphy, Paul Coffey and Bryan Trottier participating in that order.^[20]

Legends rosters

Washington Capitals # Player Position 22 Greg Adams LW 33 Don Beaupre G 12 Peter Bondra (C) RW 20 Dino Ciccarelli RW 3 Sylvain Cote D 19 John Druce RW 28 Dean Evason C 10 Alan Hangsleben D 9 Nick Kypreos LW 7 Yvon Labre D 24 Gord Lane D 18 Craig Laughlin RW 8 Mark Lofthouse RW 21 Dennis Maruk C 16 Alan May RW 27 Paul Mulvey LW 24 Robert Picard D 20 Michal Pivonka C 16 Errol Rausse LW 2 Pat Ribble D 17 Mike Ridley C -- J. R. Reich G 2 Ken Sabourin D 23 Blair Stewart C/LW 24 Scott Walker RW Coaches: Granny Grant, Joe Reekie and Rod Langway

Pittsburgh Penguins # Player Position 66 Mario Lemieux (C) C 10 Ron Francis C 77 Paul Coffey D 19 Bryan Trottier C 55 Larry Murphy D 13 Bill Guerin RW 29 Phil Bourque LW 4 Rob Brown RW 7 Rod Buskas D 16 Jay Caufield RW 12 Bob Errey LW 32 Dave Hannan LW 18 Francois Leroux D 24 Troy Loney LW 12 Greg Malone C 27 Gilles Meloche G 18 Craig Simpson LW 1 Frank Pietrangelo G 23 Gary Rissling LW 22 Rick Tocchet RW 22 Gary Roberts LW 25 Kevin Stevens LW 32 Peter Taglianetti D 35 Warren Young C Coaches: Jack Riley .

Documentary

During the first intermission, The Clarks performed near the ice.^[3] Jimmy Fallon introduced the band prior to their performance. The rock band Styx appeared during the second intermission performing "Renegade", a fan-favorite at Steelers games.^[23][24]

See also

• 2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins season
• 2010–11 Washington Capitals season
• 2011 Heritage Classic
• List of outdoor ice hockey games
• List of ice hockey games with highest attendance
• Capitals–Penguins rivalry

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2011 NHL Winter Classic.

• Official Winter Classic website
• Penguins Winter Classic website
• Webcam of rink construction
• Game boxscore
• Ted Leonsis open letter to Winter Classic fans