5 Reasons You Have to Watch the NHL Winter Classic

The Winter Classic is the NHL's premier regular season event and this year, it will feature an exciting rivalry when the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Rangers at Citizens Bank Park on January 2.

The NHL has done everything right with the Winter Classic in turning it into the premier New Year's event in all of sports.

Every player loves taking part in this event and they want to win it almost as badly as a playoff game.

Let's look at five reasons why you must watch this year's Winter Classic.

The Flyers and Rangers Rivalry Will Be Awesome to Watch

The Flyers and Rangers are two teams who don't like each other one bit, and their intense rivalry will carry into the Winter Classic in January.

Both teams are in the Atlantic division and will be fighting for playoff positioning all season long.

You can almost guarantee there will be a fight at some point in this game, and the energy of the rivalry will bring out the best in all of the players for each team.

The Winter Classic Is Better Than the College Bowl Games

The Winter Classic is such an exciting event that I would rather watch it than check out the BCS bowl games that are concluding the NFL season.

There are too many bowl games in college football and the only one on this year's schedule worth watching over something like the Winter Classic is the BCS National Championship game, which doesn't even take place until January 9.

The Winter Classic will be a more exciting game than any bowl game played on January 2.

The Atmosphere Rivals the Playoffs

They say in all sports that you cannot create real playoff pressure, excitement and atmosphere in the regular season, but the Winter Classic comes pretty darn close to doing that.

These players realize this is a once-in-a-lifetime event that they might never be a part of again, so winning it is such a big deal.

Teams take this game really seriously which allows for more excitement, even if the winner really just gets two points in the end.

The winning team often celebrates much more than they would if it were a normal regular season victory.

The Flyers Want Revenge for 2010 Loss

The Philadelphia Flyers are the only team to ever lose the Winter Classic on the road—all the previous home teams had lost until the Boston Bruins beat them in 2010.

The Flyers now have a chance to avenge that loss and win the Winter Classic in their home park, and you can bet they will be determined to not lose because they probably won't get another shot at this event for a while since this is their second appearance already.

There Will Be Goals

These two teams boast some great offensive players, and despite this game featuring two quality goaltenders, there will be plenty of exciting goals in this year's Winter Classic.

The Flyers lead the NHL in goals per game, averaging 3.52, while the Rangers are ninth with 2.94 goals scored per game.

Claude Giroux, who leads the NHL in points with 43, will lead the Flyers offense, while Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik will look to give the Rangers some scoring as well.