Revisiting the Penguins' past outdoor games
2008 Winter Classic
Jan. 1, 2008
Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 (SO)
The event that began the NHL's obsession with the sport exposed in the elements, it arguably put on the best “show” of any of them, at least insofar as what league executives could envision. The conditions (flurries fell) created a prototypical visual, and a competitive game (one of only two outdoor NHL games that went to a shootout) kept an audience to its end. Also, the face of the league provided the signature moment: Sidney Crosby ended it with his winning shootout goal — a forehand deke before sliding the puck between the pads of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller.
While the game wasn't the NHL's first foray into regular-season outdoor play (four years prior, the Canadiens and Oilers had faced off in what was thought to be a one-time “Heritage Classic” in Canada), it certainly was the game that popularized the concept. Its success led to the league making New Year's Day outdoor games an annual event, and in recent years multiple outdoor games have been staged each season.
It all began in earnest on a characteristically windy day in western New York in which the snowfall's intensity increased throughout the afternoon. Colby Armstrong scored (off an assist from Crosby) during the game's first minute, and Kris Letang also scored in the shootout. Ty Conkin (also the starter for Edmonton outside in 2004) made 36 saves in regulation and overtime and another two in the shootout.
2011 Winter Classic
Jan. 1, 2011
Heinz Field
Washington Capitals 3, Penguins 1
The game will be most remembered for a David Steckel hit absorbed by Crosby as time expired in the second period. Although at the time no one knew it, the incident led to a concussion that robbed Crosby of the second half of what would have been his best season (he had 32 goals and 66 points in exactly half of its 82 games) as well as most of the ensuing season.
The game was unpleasant in other ways for the Penguins, too — despite it being the first outdoor game in Pittsburgh — as they lost to the rival Capitals. Current Penguin Eric Fehr had the final two goals of the game for Washington, which won despite no points from superstar Alex Ovechkin. Evgeni Malkin had the lone Penguins' goal and Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves in his first outdoor start. An announced crowd of 68,111 sat through some light rain – and watched under the lights after faceoff was moved back seven hours and into primetime when the league decided to avoid the threat of heavier rain and milder-than-expected temperatures.
2014 Stadium Series
March 1, 2014
Soldier Field, Chicago
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Penguins 1
In some of the most trying conditions for an NHL outdoor games to date (17 degrees at faceoff, heavy snow at times), the Penguins were barely competitive against the reigning Stanley Cup champions. The Blackhawks tallied 40 shots (they had a 31-18 advantage in the category after two periods), prompting team captain Jonathan Toews to say, “We felt like we could find a way to score every time we got the puck.” Toews had two goals and an assist, and Corey Crawford's shutout was ruined only when teammate Brent Seabrook inexplicably shoveled the puck into his own net early in the third period.
Six days after Toews and Crosby scored as teammates to lead Canada to the gold medal at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, they met for the first time in the NHL's regular season in what was the second outdoor game held in Chicago (the first was at Wrigley Field five years prior).
— Chris Adamski
