The Leafs and Sabres battled hard and played a great game of Sunday afternoon hockey at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, ON for the 2022 Heritage Classic this past weekend. The pregame ceremonies, intermission performances, and the thrilling game (at least, for one team) provided fans both at the game and watching from home with solid entertainment for the evening.
The NHL started doing Winter Classics in 2008 and they’ve been a hit ever since. There’s been some amazing moments, goals, and memories over the years. With another outdoor game gone, it gave us the idea to rank the top 5 outdoor games. Let’s dive in.
2014 Winter Classic (Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs)
Location: Michigan Stadium (Ann Arbor, MI)
Attendance: 105,491
The hype surrounding this event made it absolutely remarkable. The Wings and Leafs played the 2014 Winter Classic at the Big House, in front of 105,491 screaming fans, which was the biggest crowd to date for an NHL game. The snow was coming down hard all game and the temperature was below 0, but that didn’t take any life out of the fans. The atmosphere was electric from start to finish.
Regulation ended tied at two, and after a five-minute overtime period solved nothing, it all came down to a shootout. Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk scored, but Toronto's Joffrey Lupul and Tyler Bozak beat Jimmy Howard to hand the Leafs a shootout win for a memorable 3-2 final score in Michigan.
2008 Winter Classic (Buffalo Sabres vs. Pittsburgh Penguins)
Location: Ralph Wilson Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
Attendance: 71,217
You never forget your first… outdoor game. New Year's Day in 2008 brought NHL fans their first-ever Winter Classic, and it was quite the memorable one at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park. Everything about that day made it a great experience for the NHL’s first, from the throwback uniforms to the snowfall coming down, it was picture perfect.
The game itself was low-scoring but entertaining, and it started off with a bang. Sidney Crosby barrelled to the net and Colby Armstrong beat Buffalo's Ryan Miller for the 1-0 lead a mere 21 seconds into the game. The Sabres responded in a similar way to begin the second period, scoring less than a minute-and-a-half into the period. The game stayed close and 60 minutes wasn’t enough. The ending was picture perfect too. Sidney Crosby scoring the shootout winner as the snow fell behind him in the NHL’s first Winter Classic? Incredible moment.
2020 Winter Classic (Dallas Stars vs. Nashville Predators)
Location: Cotton Bowl (Dallas, TX)
Attendance: 85,630
The Stars and Predators battled it out during a beautiful 54.9ºF/12.7ºC day at the Cotton Bowl in front of 85,630 fans, making it the second-highest-attended game in NHL history, and they certainly weren’t skimping out on entertainment value. Hog races, two-step dancing and everyone singing along to Garth Brooks' 'Friends In Low Places' marked the southern flair of Dallas and the home crowd.
Corey Perry, a member of the Stars at the time, got to watch the game with the fans after he was ejected early in the 1st period and created the infamous awkward tunnel walk video. The Dallas Stars won the game 4-2 after they scored four unanswered goals in the second and third periods.
2012 Winter Classic (Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers)
Location: Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Attendance: 46,967
This game was put here because the lead-up to the game was almost better than the game itself. HBO "24/7" took us inside of Ilya Bryzgalov’s humongous big brain and it showed us a softer side to John Tortorella that hockey fans don’t really see, which made for entertaining TV.
The game itself was actually delayed two hours from its originally scheduled start time due to the expectations of warm temperatures and sun glare, but it was drama-filled as soon as the puck dropped. From the on-ice battles to soft goals allowed by Sergei Bobrovsky to the nail-biting penalty shot taken by Ranger-killer Danny Briere, the game showcased moments that turned it into an instant classic.
2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe
Location: Edgewood Tahoe Resort (Stateline, Nevada)
Game 1: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche
Game 2: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
Can we just talk about the aesthetic of this game? The rink next to Lake Tahoe, the sun shining, the good looking jerseys, the exciting games. All the makings of a stellar weekend at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Nevada. All of it was perfect… except for, you know, the 8-hour delay. This series was scheduled as a replacement for both the 2021 Winter Classic and Stadium Series games, which were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two games were both fast-paced and filled with excitement. In the first game, the Avalanche defeated the Golden Knights 3-2. Colorado was ahead 3-1 as Vegas mounted a strong comeback bid late thanks to a goal from Alex Tuch, but Colorado ultimately held on for the win.
Game 2 was all Boston. The Bruins were led by star forward David Pastrnak, who recorded a hat trick. The final four minutes of the second period put the game out of reach. Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Nick Ritchie scored one goal apiece for the Bruins over a 1:39 stretch to break a 2-2 tie. They ended up winning 7-3. Each game was played on the rink built on the 18th fairway of the Edgewood Tahoe Resort.
