The NHL Winter Classic has been a consistent winner for the NHL with among the best TV ratings in league history each season since its inception on New Year’s Day of 2008. In fact, the Winter Classic has become such a success that it is now a New Year’s Day tradition that has often outperformed the college bowl games on January 1 each year.
With the historic first ever College Football Playoff taking place this New Year’s Day it is unlikely that the Winter Classic will garner the top headlines but there should still be a good TV audience to go with a sellout crowd at Nationals Park in Washington, DC as the Washington Capitals host the Chicago Blackhawks. The Winter Classic tops an exciting weekday lineup of NHL action.
–Tuesday Night–
Montreal vs. Florida: Faceoff time is set for 7:30 PM ET. The Florida Panthers began the week just four points out of a playoff spot while the Montreal Canadiens were in a red hot race with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Florida has exceeded expectations thus far and should draw its best crowd of the year for this one.
The resurgent Panthers have benefited from the veteran leadership of G Roberto Luongo and D Willie Mitchell and have a golden opportunity to generate a buzz in South Florida with a win over the Habs.
St. Louis vs. Nashville: Faceoff time is set for 8 PM ET for this Central Division showdown of the second and third place teams. Nashville has responded well to new coach Peter Laviolette and, just as important, the return of world class G Pekka Rinne from last year’s injury lost season.
The Blues have serious issues in goal as youngster Jake Allen has proven to be not ready, Martin Brodeur has proven to be too old, and number one G Brian Elliott remains out with injury. St. Louis RW Vladimir Tarasenko is the man to watch with his team best 21 goals. Impressive Nashville is a team nobody will want to face in the playoffs.
–Wednesday Night–
Toronto vs. Boston: Puck Drop is at 7 PM ET. Slumping Boston is looking tired and old with just three wins in eight games and a significant drop in metrics that had the B’s ranked 21st in the NHL for goal scoring and 16th for goals against. Boston’s 6-2 blowout loss at outmanned Columbus on Saturday was sobering to say the least. Toronto meanwhile still refuses to back check, as evidenced by their ranking of 29th in the NHL for fewest shots allowed. That lack of a 200 foot game is what doomed the Leafs in last spring’s collapse that cost them a playoff spot, not to mention their epic 2013 playoff collapse at Boston.
–2015 Bridgestone Winter Classic 1 PM ET New Year’s Day on NBC–
Chicago vs. Washington: The resurgent Capitals caught everyone’s attention after Saturday night’s 3-0 shutout win at powerful Pittsburgh. NBC is no doubt relieved as the Caps were sluggish at the start of the season but have since responded to first year coach Barry Trotz and his call for a full 200 foot game. With Jonahtan Toews and Patrick Kane of the Hawks going up against Alex Ovechkin and the Caps there is plenty of star appeal in what has emerged as a potential Stanley Cup Final matchup. That big name star appeal combined with the national popularity of the Blackhawks have, according to Forbes, caused the 2015 Winter Classic to have a 235% price increase for ticket demand. The current average ticket price on the secondary market is a hefty $508 which bodes well for what could be a classic Winter Classic.
–Friday Night–
Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh: This one has a faceoff time of 7 PM ET. The Tampa Bay Lightning were the leaders of a tight Atlantic Division race while the Pittsburgh Penguins led the Metropolitan Division by just two points over the New York Islanders. This should be among the most entertaining games of the week. The Lighting boast such talent as C Tyler Johnson and superstar C Steven Stamkos while the Pens boast top C’s Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Lightning ranked second in the NHL for goal scoring while Pittsburgh ranked third.
