Report: Pittsburgh Penguins to play Chicago Blackhawks in outdoor game
By Matt Gajtka
The NHL is going all-in on the outdoors, and once again the Pittsburgh Penguins will be part of it.
Multiple media sources, including Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, are reporting that the Penguins will travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on March 1 at Soldier Field. According to Rossi and others, the game will be one of six played outdoors next season, starting with the Winter Classic between Detroit and Toronto on New Year’s Day at Michigan Stadium.
In addition to the Penguins-Blackhawks matchup at the home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears, the NHL will visit Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium and B.C. Place in Vancouver. Yankee Stadium will host two games in four days, with the Rangers facing the Devils and the Islanders on Jan. 26 and 29, respectively.
December 20, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery (30) makes a save against Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Matt Cooke (24) during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE
The Ducks and the Kings will battle on Jan. 25 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, which will be the NHL’s first outdoor regular-season game in California. Following the anticipated Olympic break and the Pittsburgh-Chicago tilt, the Senators will play the Canucks on March 2.
This will be the third outdoor game for the Penguins, who beat the Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo in the first Winter Classic in 2008. The Pens hosted Washington at Heinz Field in 2011, making Pittsburgh the first franchise to take part in two outdoor games.
Sidney Crosby played large roles in both Winter Classics, albeit in drastically different ways. He scored the shootout winner against the Sabres in idyllic wintry conditions, but, on a rainy Pittsburgh night vs. the Capitals, suffered a concussion that held him out of game action for 10 months.
Crosby connection aside, the Winter Classics – and occasional Heritage Classics in Canada – have been tremendous boons for the NHL, attracting immense interest around what would otherwise be nondescript midseason contests. The league’s gambit is that playing six outdoor games will activate more teams’ fan bases without diluting the uniqueness of the events.
Pitting the Penguins against the Blackhawks makes perfect sense, given that both teams boast some of the league’s most exciting players. The thought of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the same ice sheet is intriguing without the outdoor stage. Each team also currently leads its conference, making Pittsburgh-Chicago one of the more likely Stanley Cup Final matchups this spring.
2013-14 is shaping up to be a busy season for the NHL, which has rebounded remarkably well from the lockout that chopped three months off this season’s schedule. Although the NHL, NHLPA and the International Ice Hockey Federation haven’t come to a formal agreement on Olympic participation, NHL players are expected to represent their countries in Sochi, Russia, next February.