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| Date | January 1, 2011 | |||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Heinz Field | |||||||||||||||
| City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 68,111 | |||||||||||||||
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The 2011 NHL Winter Classic (known via corporate sponsorship as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fourth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Washington Capitals against the Pittsburgh Penguins; the Capitals won, 3–1. The game, rescheduled from its original 1:00 p.m. ET start time to 8:00 p.m. due to weather concerns,[1][2] was telecast on NBC in the United States, and CBC (English) and RDS (French) in Canada. Pittsburgh native Jackie Evancho performed the Star Spangled Banner and Pittsburgh sports legends Mario Lemieux, Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis presided over the ceremonial dropping of the puck, and during the second intermission Harris and Bettis hosted a fan event at the outside rink.[3]
The 2011 Winter Classic was the second time the Penguins participated in an outdoor NHL game; the team previously visited the Buffalo Sabres for the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008.[4] Most notably, the Classic pitted two recent number-one draft picks against each other: Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin (2004) and Penguins center Sidney Crosby (2005); both players entered the league in the same year, 2005, due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout and contributed to a rivalry between the two teams that has been growing since the early 1990s. During the game, Crosby suffered a concussion from a collision, causing him to miss significant playing time over the next year.
Uniforms
At the event, the teams wore vintage uniforms based on Reebok's "Edge" template. The visiting Capitals wore a replica of their inaugural 1974–75 white uniform which they wore through the 1994–95 season, with red helmets.[5] The uniforms would remain the Capitals alternate until 2015, when they were replaced by their red counterpart.
The Penguins wore new uniforms, based on those of their inaugural 1967–68 season; the navy and baby blue colors were reversed, and the jerseys featured a crest of their original skating penguin logo, in place of the diagonal letters. The jerseys would replace the team's previous throwbacks from the 2008 Winter Classic as their alternate uniforms, but would subsequently be dubbed the "Blue Jerseys of Doom" after Sidney Crosby suffering a career-altering concussion in the Winter Classic, which ended Crosby's season at the half-way mark. The bad luck with the jersey continued, as Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal all suffered injuries in other games wearing the uniforms. Three days after Crosby sustained a broken jaw wearing the blue jerseys in 2013, the uniform was permanently mothballed and the Penguins opted to wear their standard black uniforms in their remaining games they were scheduled to wear the blue jerseys.[6]
Delayed start time
The game had originally been scheduled for 1:00 p.m., but due to concerns about rain, on December 31 the game was shifted to an 8:00 p.m. start.[1] A few weeks prior, the possibility was raised that the Winter Classic might be postponed or canceled altogether. All major weather outlets forecast unseasonably warm temperatures for the day of the game, with the possibility of rain. Heavy or constant rain was the greater concern for the NHL, as it could eventually make the ice surface unplayable. Light rain would have frozen on contact and made the surface uneven, while hard rain could have possibly flooded the rink. Early on the NHL had contingency plans to push the game back to January 2 if necessary, but preferred not to do so since this would have conflicted with telecasts of NFL games. If neither date had reasonable weather, the game would have been postponed and the matchup rescheduled indoors at Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena) later in the season. New Year's Weekend was the only time the Steelers would have allowed Heinz Field to be available, since they needed time to get it ready for any postseason home game (which could have been as early as January 8);[7] subsequent future outdoor games in Pittsburgh now would have to either be a Stadium Series game at Heinz Field or either a Stadium Series or Winter Classic game at PNC Park to avoid future scheduling conflicts with the Steelers.[8]
As New Year's Day approached weather forecasts solidified that by late afternoon the Pittsburgh region would be cooling to the 40s and eventually 30s, and major precipitation would be over by early evening for the duration of the weekend.[9] As it turned out, the few fast-moving bands of light rain in the area had no effect on the surface, and no problems were reported.
Pre-game
Canadian singer and former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page performed the Canadian national anthem in English and French while America's Got Talent runner-up and Pittsburgh native Jackie Evancho sang the American national anthem. Following their performances, Pittsburgh sports legends Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis and Mario Lemieux joined U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Bradley T. Tinstman for the ceremonial puck drop.
Rule changes
As with the 2008 and 2009 games in Ralph Wilson Stadium and Wrigley Field, the NHL announced a rule change to account for any adverse weather conditions that could give either team an unfair advantage. Due to high winds, the teams changed sides an additional time, at the first whistle after the halfway point of the third period. This was done at exactly the halfway point of the third period in 2008 because of falling snow and again in 2009 due to high winds.
Game summary
| Jan 1, 2011 | Washington Capitals | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Heinz Field | Recap |
Capitals goalie Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves in the win. After a scoreless first period, the Penguins scored first early in the second period with Evgeni Malkin's goal. Washington then scored three unanswered goals, one by Mike Knuble and two by Eric Fehr, to win the game.[10]
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | No scoring | ||||
| 2nd | PIT | Evgeni Malkin (14) | Kris Letang (27), Marc-Andre Fleury (1) | 2:13 | 1–0 PIT |
| WSH | Mike Knuble (9) (PP) | Nicklas Backstrom (26), Mike Green (11) | 6:54 | 1–1 TIE | |
| WSH | Eric Fehr (6) | Marcus Johansson (4) | 14:45 | 2–1 WSH | |
| 3rd | WSH | Eric Fehr (7) | Jason Chimera (7), John Erskine (6) | 11:59 | 3–1 WSH |
- Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season
| Penalty summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | PIT | Paul Martin | Hooking | 4:40 | 2:00 |
| WSH | Mike Green | Holding | 8:21 | 2:00 | |
| WSH | John Erskine | Fighting | 11:52 | 5:00 | |
| PIT | Michael Rupp | Fighting | 11:52 | 5:00 | |
| 2nd | WSH | Brooks Laich | Interference | 2:59 | 2:00 |
| PIT | Maxime Talbot | Holding | 5:56 | 2:00 | |
| WSH | John Erskine | Hooking | 15:37 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | WSH | Mike Knuble | Delay of game | 7:28 | 2:00 |
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| Three star selections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Player | Statistics | |
| 1st | WSH | Semyon Varlamov | 32 Saves (.970) |
| 2nd | WSH | Eric Fehr | 2 Goals |
| 3rd | PIT | Evgeni Malkin | 1 Goal |
