Complete Guide to the 2015 Winter Classic Between the Capitals and Blackhawks
The cynic sees another overhyped regular-season game cleverly disguised as a money-making cash cow designed to extract every possible penny from fans.
The eternally positive person sees an outdoor contest that stirs childhood memories of games played on frozen lakes and rivers or in backyards, a chance to watch something that provides a special sense of wonderment in the winter elements.
That’s right—the New Year’s Day event that is the NHL’s Winter Classic is once again upon us.
The seventh installment will feature the Chicago Blackhawks squaring off against the Washington Capitals at Nationals Park, home of MLB’s Washington Nationals. There is star power on both sides, and both teams are having solid first halves to their seasons.
If this was a run-of-the-mill game being aired on a Thursday night, it would be worth your time, so it’s definitely appointment viewing as you either nurse a hangover or unpack after a fun morning at Bed, Bath & Beyond, depending on where you are in your life journey as of January 1, 2015.
What follows is a little primer for the Winter Classic that features a lot of what you need to know and other stuff that may make you wonder why it was included. It's not called a "complete" guide for nothing.
How can I watch/hear the Winter Classic?
The game will air at 1 p.m. ET on NBC in the United States and on CBC (English) and TVA (French) in Canada. Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire will have the call in America.
There will be a few bars in the D.C. area open at 11 a.m. or earlier for those of you who couldn’t score tickets and don’t want to watch the game at home.
If you’re in the United States and don’t care to hear where everyone played their junior or college hockey every four minutes, you can mute the television and listen to the game on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
I’m not a big hockey fan, but I enjoy rotting on my couch on New Year’s Day whilst watching sports. What are my other options?
Fair enough. We are not here to force hockey down your throat, so here’s what else is available at the same time on New Year’s Day:
• There are three bowl games happening at the same time as the Winter Classic, although none involve the College Football Playoff, which starts at 5 p.m. ET. During the hockey showcase, Michigan State plays Baylor, Auburn plays Wisconsin and … look, no one is saying one NHL game out of 82 is life or death, but it’s far more meaningful than these bowl games.
• There are three college basketball games at 2 p.m. ET, one of which involves Crowley's Ridge College. The only thing more meaningless than the NHL regular season is the college basketball regular season.
• The one thing that could suck you away from the Winter Classic is a marathon of your favorite TV shows on cable. I enjoy Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and CSI as much as the next guy, but I’ll save you some time: That first suspect that obviously did it actually didn’t do it, and someone will confess during the final 90 seconds of the show, even though that’s the only way he or she would ever get convicted with that flimsy evidence.
To summarize, the Winter Classic is your best option at 1 p.m. ET.
Fine, I’ll watch the Winter Classic. Are these teams any good?
Yes, they are actually really good, and both teams are playing pretty well at the moment.
The Blackhawks are probably the best team in the NHL right now. They are 5-1-1 in their past seven games and 18-4-1 since Nov. 7. They are averaging 3.03 goals per game, third most in the league, so not only are they winning, they are generally doing so in fun fashion.
The Capitals aren’t quite on the Blackhawks' level, but they have been pretty close of late. The Capitals are 4-1-1 in their past six games and 8-1-3 since Dec. 4. At 2.89 goals per game, the Capitals are tied with the Vancouver Canucks as the league’s seventh-highest scoring team.
The Blackhawks (25-10-2) and Capitals (18-11-7) are a combined 43-21-9 entering this contest, which is a combined .651 points percentage. What does that mean in terms of quality of teams? Well, a .651 points percentage would be good for eighth in the NHL right now, .007 behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In relation to other Winter Classic games, however, this one is actually below average. The NHL has been blessed with some quality matchups over the years.
Here's a look at this year's matchup compared with the previous six games, including the records of those teams on New Year's Day.
| 2015 | Chicago vs. Washington | 43-21-9 | .651 |
| 2014 | Toronto vs. Detroit | 38-30-14 | .549 |
| 2012 | N.Y. Rangers vs. Philadelphia | 45-19-8 | .681 |
| 2011 | Washington vs. Pittsburgh | 47-23-8 | .654 |
| 2010 | Philadelphia vs. Boston | 39-30-9 | .558 |
| 2009 | Detroit vs. Chicago | 44-14-12 | .714 |
| 2008 | Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo | 39-32-4 | .547 |
This game pits two very good teams against each other, two teams that are playing well right now. As long as the weather holds up, it should be a dandy.
Oh, right, what’s the weather looking like for this game?
It’s good and bad. The good is the temperature is forecast to be in the low 40s at puck drop. That’s almost perfect for a game played on an outdoor sheet of ice.
The bad is the potential for sunshine. NHL ice guru Dan Craig has said time and again that while the ideal temperature is in the low 30s, direct sunlight at any temperature can be a problem worse than rain or snow for his crew.
If this game needs to be delayed while the ice crew waits for cloud cover—a possibility floated Wednesday, per ESPN.com—the NHL could find itself up against a college football semifinal between Oregon and Florida State, which would not be good for attracting casual viewers. But if Nationals Park is packed at the time, that means more concession money.
Always look on the bright side, even when a bright side could be a bad thing.
Who are the stars on these teams? Same dudes as always, right?
Yep, same dudes as always.
The Blackhawks still have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Capitals still have Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. I feel like I’d be explaining who Barack Obama was on a White House tour if I start going into deep detail on these guys, so I’ll just surface knowledge you.
Kane is sixth in the league in scoring with 40 points; Backstrom is tied for ninth with 38 points. Ovechkin has 17 goals in 36 games, which has him not far off a 40-goal pace. Toews has 13 goals and 31 points in 37 games and is as steady as ever.
How about one under-the-radar guy on each team?
Fair enough.
Remember Kris Versteeg? The guy who went to three teams in about a year after winning a Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010? Well, he’s back with the Blackhawks and is third on the team in scoring behind Kane and Toews with nine goals and 27 points.
For the Capitals, defenseman John Carlson is in the midst of a career year offensively with four goals and 27 points in 36 games. He’s never had more than 37 points in a season, and he’s set to blow that number out of the water this season. Carlson will very likely find himself sharing the ice with Kane and Toews as well.
How are the goaltenders?
A goaltender is like an ink blot; you will see what you want to see depending on how your brain translates images and whether that particular goaltender plays on your favorite team.
Let’s start with Braden Holtby of the Capitals. He wasn’t very good at the outset of the season and was a big reason why the Capitals struggled to find consistency. But since Holtby found his game, the Capitals have taken off.
| Braden Holtby | 16-8-6 | 2.28 | .920 |
| Corey Crawford | 14-6-2 | 2.08 | .921 |
Holtby is 8-1-3 in his past 12 starts with two shutouts and seven games in which he allowed two goals or fewer. For the season, he is 16-8-6 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
Corey Crawford has been more of a mixed bag for the Blackhawks.
Despite missing 14 games with a lower-body injury, Crawford is 14-6-2 with a 2.08/.921 split. His three games since returning from the injury, however, have been suspect; he’s 2-1-0 but has allowed nine goals on 78 shots (.885).
There’s nothing wrong with a .921 save percentage, but should it be higher when playing behind a team as great as the Blackhawks? Backups Antti Raanta and Scott Darling, the former an undrafted free agent and the latter a sixth-round pick, have a combined .941 save percentage in 15 starts.
In his only outdoor game, however, Crawford stopped 31 of 32 shots at Chicago’s Soldier Field in snowy conditions against the Pittsburgh Penguins last March.
So who is winning this game?
Everything says the Blackhawks, but I'm picking the Capitals. I'll say Capitals 3, Blackhawks 2. Joel Ward scores twice.
All statistics via NHL.com and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.
Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.
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