NHL Winter Classic 2011
NHL Winter Classic 2011: Capitals Share Expectations for Winter Classic The fourth NHL Winter Classic is just hours away now, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are set to renew their rivalry in the open air of Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. The Penguins have already played in one Winter Classic, as they took on the Buffalo Sabres in the inaugural Classic back in 2008. That one was played at Ralph Wilson Stadium. But this is uncharted territory for the Capitals. And they shared some of their views with the Washington Post. "When you walked in here [Friday] and you saw thousands of people in the stands and you look at the enormity of the building and you go, 'Wow, this is going to be a really cool event,'" said head coach Bruce Boudreau on Friday. As for whether the elements will play a role in the game, Scott Hannan shared his thoughts. "It will be a little bit different when you see pucks get flipped up or dump ins come in but I'm sure you get used to it quick," said Hannan. "There are certain reads that you'll have to make that are different sometimes, but it's different in every building. It might be worse for the goalies than it will be for the players." There are expected to be upwards of 65,000 people in attendance for the game. If you're going to be hung up on college football until the game starts, check out our coverage of all the New Year's Day Bowl Games 2011. Winter Classic 2011: Morning Skate notes-Varlamov starts, Poti out The postponement of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic to 8:00 p.m. tonight gave the Washington Capitals an extra couple of hours to hold a traditional morning skate, which took place at the Consol Energy Center, the brand-new home of the Pittsburgh Penguins. None of the news that emerged out of the skate was particularly surprising, as Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed that Semyon Varlamov would be the starting goaltender tonight. It will be the second straight start for the Russian, who stopped 25 shots in a 3-0 win over Montreal in Washington's previous game December 28. Boudreau also confirmed that defenseman Tom Poti will miss tonight's game as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered when Poti was inadvertently hit in the head with a stick during the first meetings between the Penguins and Capitals December 23. Poti, fellow defenseman Tyler Sloan, and forward D.J. King were the three participants in the traditional "scratches skate" after the end of the team skate. The absence of Poti and Sloan means that the Capitals will likely only dress six defensemen tonight: Mike Green, Scott Hannan, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Jeff Schultz, and John Erskine. The other two Capitals who will miss tonight's game are fowards Matt Bradley (broken finger) and Boyd Gordon (foot infection), who have both been on the injured reserve list for several weeks. So, the list of the active forwards tonight is as follows: Alex Ovechkin, Eric Fehr, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich, Mike Knuble, Jason Chimera, Matt Hendricks, Alexander Semin, David Steckel, Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault, and Marcus Johansson. Source : bleacherreport.com Source : tbd.com
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