One thing is certain; the NHL has finally found a way to create a unique viewing experience for the casual hockey fan.  For three years in a row, the NHL has transformed football and baseball stadiums into outdoor hockey rinks and they’ve finally found an identity.
Hockey has always been known as a sport best appreciated live and, up until the Winter Classic, this was always true.  Now that the NHL has found a way to create a winter wonderland type environment that anyone can marvel over both in person and via flat screen, they have afforded themselves the opportunity to make this game an American tradition that is definitely here to stay.
Thumbs up:
The pregame media coverage was awesome.  For someone who did not know very much about the Bruins and Flyers, they came away knowing the two most important names in both Flyers and Bruins history.  (Bobby Clarke and Bobby Orr)
I will stick with the pregame ceremonies on this one…  Did anyone notice that Bobby Clarke won the ceremonial puck drop?  I think one of the commentators, possibly Bill Clement, may have even mentioned this during the first intermission.  Usually, the home team’s honorary captain would win the draw.
Dan Carcillo etched his name in the record books.  It’s only fitting that the first fight in Winter Classic history came between The Broad Street Bullies and The Big Bad Bruins.
The weather did not seem to play any sort of factor in the game.  Earlier in the week, there were scares that the game would have to be postponed because of possible rain.
I loved the fact that we all got to witness Zdeno Chara, one of the NHL’s best defenseman, cough up the puck at the blue line because of constant pressure by the Flyers forwards.  I know that Pronger has not lived up to the hype at this point and at times has not looked very good but this shows that it happens to the best of them.  Both Chara and Pronger have heavy shots at the point and play big in their own zone but their menacing size sometimes comes back to haunt them from a mobility standpoint.  At the same time, when Chara would crank up for a slapper at the point I was holding my breath.  Now I know how opposing fans feel when they see Pronger at the point.
Let’s Go Flyers chants…  Am I hearing correctly?  The Flyers fans were out and about and loud.  I double checked with some sources of mine that were able to make the trip up to Boston and they said the attendance was around 60% Bruins and 40% Flyers.  I know this number may seem a little inflated from the Flyers end but I have witnessed this firsthand.  I have had the pleasure of seeing the club play in at least ten different arenas and there is always a lot of Flyer fans in attendance.  Being that this was such a big event, it doesn’t seem unrealistic to me at 60/40.
I was a little worried that the Flyers were on a four-game tear because they were playing against weak teams.  However, despite losing in overtime, the Flyers look like they are back.  They played a very strong game at both ends of the ice and they were a couple of bounces away from winning it in overtime.  They played better hockey than Boston and if they continue to play this way, they should be back to being a contender.
There were not many penalties in the game.  The referees did a great job by letting the teams play and making obvious penalty calls.  I was excited as soon as I knew that Kerry Fraser was officiating the game.  I can’t think of a better referee in the game today.
Scott Hartnell has not had a minor penalty in the past three games.  If Hartnell can stay out of the penalty box and park himself in front of opposing goaltenders, the Flyers are going to start having some success.
Even though the Flyers lost the game in overtime, I came out of the game happy and fortunate to be able to see them play a good game in the Winter Classic.
Lastly, I spoke to several attendees and every one of them said that the people in the city of Boston were extremely friendly and accommodating.  I remember thinking a few years back about how much Boston and Philly fans were alike.  They were both hard working, blue-collar towns who had not seen a championship in so long.  Than it all change when they won the World Series and beat the birds in the Super Bowl and turned into a championship city.  Now, after hearing about Flyers and Bruins fans together celebrating this event, I may be back to liking Boston… Hopefully, the Eagles never play the Pats in the Superbowl again because my views will quickly change.
Thumbs down:
James Taylor performing the national anthem.  No disrespect to James Taylor but his rendition of the national anthem was awful.  I know he did his thing but the crowd just seemed flat… I think the guy who sang “O Canada” got a bigger rise from the attendees.
When the NHL announced that they were holding the Winter Classic at Fenway Park, everyone raved about how the best seat in the house would be at the top of the green monster.  At the start of the pregame, Bob Costas was sitting atop the monster to show how great the view was and it made me happy that I was not there and instead watching it on TV.  I am sure the Classic atmosphere is phenomenal but there are obstructed views all over the place.  In a perfect world, club box seats seem to be the way to go.  You are able to hang out and tailgate, reap the benefits of the atmosphere and than kick back in your club box and watch the game on HD.  I said in a perfect world, I would imagine a ticket would run at least $700 considering the average bleacher seat was about $325 per ticket.
I will give a quick nod to Boyerb who pointed out that the Flyers were 14-5-1 with Blair Betts in the lineup.  I also have noticed this trend and Betts obviously brings a lot to the table.  Why is this in my dislike portion of the post?  It absolutely disturbs me that the Flyers were so bad with him out of the lineup and that they need to rely so heavily on a career fourth-line center.  I get all the intangibles, I love the hardworking player but it disturbs me that it has come to this.  The fact that their big guys on the first and second line can’t pick up the slack when this guy is out of the lineup is just troubling.  But again, great stat… still troubling and it also points out how fragile this team was/is?
