NHL Winter Classic Plays On Through Rain, Worsening Ice Surface

Winter Classic Opened With Olympics-Like Opening Ceremony, Fireworks, 20-Foot Flames

The Capitals-Penguins Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, "forced under the lights for the first time because of earlier rain, made the very most of the Heinz Field stage on a soggy Saturday," according to Dejan Kovacevic of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. There was "an Olympics-like opening ceremony, fireworks shot off the stadium rooftops, some 20-foot-tall flames flanking the parade of players, a deafening-at-times din from the crowd of 68,111 [and] a dazzling if eclectic array of Terrible Towels waving over tassle caps." The opening faceoff was moved from 1:00pm ET to 8:00pm due to weather concerns, but "all concerned seemed to agree that the move to prime time ... paid off in ways that might prove more memorable than the outcome." NHL Co ...