2012 NHL Winter Classic: Top 5 Players

In an event unlike anything ever before, the NHL proposed an outdoor game between two of its professional hockey clubs at the start of the 2007-2008 season.

Five years and five cities later, the NHL Winter Classic is now an annual event that offers players a chance to play in front of crowds nearly twice as big as a typical NHL arena.

There is nothing quite like playing on such a big stage in the open environment that brings many players (especially the Canadians) back to their roots.

This year, the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers faced off in the NHL's fifth annual Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Rangers erased a second-period 2-0 Flyer lead and claimed a 3-2 victory after Brad Richards buried a rebound behind Flyers' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Several players stuck out for both teams, both the expected, like red hot Rangers' goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who stopped 34 shots, and the unexpected, like grinding power forward Mike Rupp who scored 2 goals for the Rangers.

Honorable Mention: Sergei Bobrovsky

While Bobrovsky suffered the loss, he looked very good in between the pipes for the Flyers.

The 23-year-old turned away 30 of 33 shots, including several key saves.

Philadelphia's defense didn't help the young goaltender out on Mike Rupp's first goal and Brad Richards' game-winner nearly six minutes into the third.

Bobrovsky should not be blamed entirely for the loss, but he was outplayed by Henrik Lundvist, who plays in net for the Blueshirts.

No. 5: Max Talbot

Talbot didn't score any goals in his second consecutive Winter Classic, but the announcers used the third-liner's name quite a bit.

He went into the corners to muck, grind, and win the battles for the puck, and he had several opportunities to put one behind Lundqvist.

He did manage an assist on a goal by Claude Giroux late in the second.

Talbot does his job for the Flyers, and he does it well. 

True fans of hockey appreciate hardworking role-players like Talbot.

No. 4: Brad Richards

Richards started of a little slowly in the Winter Classic but delivered when it counted.

The 31-year-old center took a bad penalty in the first period when he stuck his knee out to trip the Flyers' Claude Giroux.

Luckily, his team stepped up and did not allow a single shot against on the ensuing powerplay.

Richards played hard for the rest of the game, and his hard work payed off five minutes and twenty-one seconds into the third period when he pounced on a rebound at the bottom of the right face-off circle and jammed the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Rangers signed Richards to be a big-name player, and he certainly delivered on Monday afternoon by sealing the victory with the go-ahead goal.

No. 3: Claude Giroux

Ladies and gentleman, Claude Giroux has arrived.

At only 23 years old, Claude Giroux sits at the top of the NHL scoring leaders, even after missing four games with a concussion.

He scored the Flyers' second goal on Monday to give them a 2-0 lead, but he had a plethora of other opportunities.

He still looked good even after losing star winger Jaromir Jagr, who left the game early with an apparent injury.  The tandem has developed strong chemistry throughout this season.

At times, it seemed like the star center was everywhere and, at times, didn't get off the ice.

Giroux is quickly establishing himself as one of the scariest scorers in the entire league.

No. 2: Henrik Lundqvist

King Henry stole the show on Monday, stopping 34 of 36 shots, including a late penalty shot opportunity by Daniel Briere that could have knotted the game at three.

Whether it was a sparkling glove save or stymieing offensive juggernaut Claude Giroux on a breakaway, Lundqvist stood tall and met every challenge.

The most amazing part of his performance on Monday was his ability to adapt his game to the event.

Usually a very conservative netminder, Lundqvist played uncharacteristically aggressive and challenged shooters to execute perfectly on the less-than-perfect ice surface.

When you're hot, you're hot, and to quote rapper Lil' Wayne, Henrik Lundqvist is like Nevada in the middle of the summer.

No. 1: Mike Rupp

Talk about unexpected heroes.

Veteran tough guy and grinder Mike Rupp shined as he scored two goals to bring the Rangers back from a 2-0 defecit.

He broke through the defense and rifled a shot past Sergei Bobrovsky's glove and celebrated with a Jagr-esque salute to the crowd. 

No respect; gotta love it.

He then scored the game-tying goal in the third period when he received a pass down the boards, waited, waited and beat Brobovsky a second time over his blockerside shoulder.

Rupp missed 21 games due to injury at the start of the season, but showed Rangers fans and the NHL he was well worth the 1-year $450,000 contract he signed with New York this past off-season.