By Chris Shea, staff writer
From first to third base in Nationals Park in Washington D.C., there was a hockey rink to usher in the New Year as the Chicago Blackhawks took on the Washington Capitals for the 2015 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic.
It was a game of star players facing off to see who would come out with the two points in the standings. From Jonathan Toews of Chicago versus Nicklas Backstrom of Washington, to the excitement that is the reigning Maurice Richard Winner (top goal scorer) Alex Ovechkin.
Since 2008, the National Hockey League and NBC have brought in the New Year with an outdoor hockey game for the sake of ratings, specifically to fill the void of NBC’s loss of college football broadcasts. The 2008 Classic won the Sports Business Award for “Sports Event of the Year.” So it only makes sense to continue such a great business scheme with your main American TV partner.
Like each outdoor game before it, this one had its own memorable moments. In games previous it was Sidney Crosby’s shootout winner in ’08, the high scoring affair between the Red Wings and Blackhawks in ‘09, or Marco Sturm’s overtime winner at Fenway Park in 2010. But the person who stole the show this year was former Chicago Blackhawk Troy Brouwer.
The festivities kicked off with Billy Idol rocking the capital with the song “White Wedding.” Then the puck dropped in D.C. The first period consisted of a bright sun and three goals, two by the Capitals and one by the Hawks, as well as the fact that Karl Alzner of the Caps was rocking out the most killer shades ever.
“…It was the best for me in seeing the puck. I don’t know how the other guys [played] without them,” Alzner said about the sunglasses.
By the third period, it was a 2-2 game after a second period goal by Brandon Saad. With less than three minutes left, Jonathan Toews took an “iffy” hooking penalty against Mr. Cool Shades (Alzner), which set up a play to remember. With 15 seconds remaining in regulation, Brandon Saad slashed Ovechkin’s stick, which made Chicago Goaltender Corey Crawford lose sight on the puck and to look at Ovechkin. This allowed Troy Brouwer to wrist in the game winner with 12.9 seconds left.
That late goal and a late save by Washington Goalie Braden Holtby allowed the Capitals to complete their season sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks, as the Caps beat the Hawks 3-2 on Nov. 7, 2014.
The 2016 Classic will return to Massachusetts, as the Boston Bruins will face their long time rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, at Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots) in Foxborough.