2009 NHL Winter Classic

The 2009 NHL Winter Classic (known via corporate sponsorship as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game played on January 1, 2009, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. The game pitted the Chicago Blackhawks, who normally play their home games indoors at United Center, against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the 701st game between these rivals in the NHL's Central Division. The Red Wings won the game, 6–4, despite falling behind 3–1 in the first period. This was the first Winter Classic to involve at least one of the Original Six teams, and the only one to date to feature teams from the Western Conference.

The two teams wore vintage-style uniforms, using the current Reebok Edge equipment and material. The Red Wings wore a version of the sweaters worn by the Detroit Cougars in 1926–27, their first season in the NHL, but with their familiar "Winged Wheel" logo on the shoulders. The Blackhawks wore sweaters which were a mix of their 1936–37 sweaters and their 1937–38 sweaters, with the design from 1936–37 and the chest crest from 1937–38.

2016 NHL Winter Classic

The 2016 NHL Winter Classic (officially the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was a regular season outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game, that was held on January 1, 2016. The game, the eighth Winter Classic, saw the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins, 5–1, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a significant event in one of the NHL's best-known rivalries. A Bruins and Canadiens alumni game was also played on December 31, 2015. The Boston Pride women's professional hockey team played before the alumni game against Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League to a 1–1 tie in the first ever Women's Winter Classic (officially the Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank).

Teams

The Bruins made their second appearance in the Winter Classic, as they played against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic held in Boston's Fenway Park; Massachusetts became the first market to serve as repeat host of the Winter Classic. Early reports dating back to December 2014 by TSN's Bob McKenzie indicated that Boston was the league's first choice in hosting the game.

2012 NHL Winter Classic

The 2012 NHL Winter Classic (known via corporate sponsorship as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game played on January 2, 2012, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game, the League's fifth Winter Classic, matched the New York Rangers against the Philadelphia Flyers, two Atlantic Division rivals; the Rangers won by a score of 3–2. The original plan was to have the contest at the Philadelphia Eagles' home, Lincoln Financial Field; however, the Eagles played there the day before, and the NHL needed at least a week of preparation time to build the ice rink onto the field. The game was broadcast by NBC in the United States and by CBC and RDS in Canada. NBC's announcers were Mike Emrick and Eddie Olczyk, with Pierre McGuire handling sideline duties and Bob Costas as the studio host.

The game returned to its original daytime time slot, with the Rangers-Flyers game beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (two hours behind its originally scheduled start time of 1:00 p.m.). This marked the first time the Winter Classic was not played on New Year's Day, as it fell on a Sunday; NBC's contract with the National Football League (NFL) prevents them from airing NHL games (or anything else) on primetime Sunday night, because of NBC Sunday Night Football, and while NBC has an open time slot on Sunday afternoon, the NFL traditionally discourages its broadcast partners from programming high-profile sports events in competition with its own games, a full slate of which the NFL played on the afternoon of Sunday, January 1.