Sports Frog

Some Winter Classic thoughts:

• I'm glad it's over and that it was a success. The whole thing was definitely something that makes the game more accessible to the casual fan, and that's a nice change for the NHL.
• But the hockey itself was, save for a handful of instances of near brilliance, something that reminded me more of a men's league pickup game than a contest of professional athletes.
• And while the score was only 1-1, there were three solid posts (2-1, Buffalo) that all could have easily been goals. There was a decent amount of physical play, and a lot more contact than what was in the Heritage Classic.
• But for the most part, this was spectacle and not substance. It was a novelty, and a fine one. But I wouldn't expect this to become a regular event, because like in any blind date, what seems sweet and cute now can easily turn into annoying and needless once you get settled back into your element. Then again, this is the NHL, so they'll probably beat the idea into the ground.
• I think it was fitting, too, that the league's new novelty was ended with the game's old novelty (a shootout). In five years, we'll be watching an outdoor game in Beijing that ends with a John Tavares shootout goal that flies over the top of Jonathan Bernier's mask and into the back of a 10 foot high net.
• Finally, I chuckled every time I saw a player at the end of a shift, look up to the sky expecting to see a scoreboard there. God was not giving replays on this day.

Some other notes about the game:

• All of the photos are just fantastic.
• The Pittsburgh Post Gazette had a nice running blog going; even though the weather made it hard to get out of the stadium.
• Most, if not all of the MSM response I've seen has been positive. But leave it to a Rangers writer to not be on board of the love fest.
• The AP tells us how hockey is introduced to real tailgating.
• JS Giguere thinks they could play an outdoor game in Southern California. And really, it couldn't have less stoppages to fix the ice than what we had on Tuesday, right?
• The fans in Buffalo and Edmonton are some of the best in hockey. Minnesota and Michigan would be a nice place to see another game played outdoors, but it'll be hard to match the atmosphere of these first two.
• I'm curious in seeing how the Pens and Sabres handle reality again. The Pens play Thursday at home against the Leafs and the Sabres are off until Friday, when they host the Sens. Back in 2003 with both teams off two days rest following the Heritage Classic, Montreal went on to lose 5-2 at home to the Canucks and Edmonton started flat in Columbus before rallying to record a 3-3 tie against the Blue Jackets.

Two other, non Classic notes from Tuesday:

• Mike Keenan, never kind to goalies, is making things tense in Calgary with one of the better goalies in the league.
• Most of Canadia and the northern portion of US continues to trash the Southeast division, but they're writing the book on how to beat the Senators. Last night, Washington capped off their third straight win against the Sens and has now outscored Ottawa 15-10 in three games this season. Ottawa has lost just 10 games in regulation so far this season, and 5 of those has come against a Southeast division opponent.

UPDATE: News on the ratings sounds promising. But when they do this again, I hope they pick a day other than Jan 1. As entertaining as this was, so was watching Lloyd Carr, Chad Henne, and Mike Hart - for the last time together - destroy the Gators defense.