Billy Idol - White Wedding - Winter Classic 2015
In one of the most exciting and dramatic Winter Classic games of all time, the Washington Capitals defeated the Chicago Blackhawks on New Year"s Day at Nationals Park by a score of 3-2.
The Caps won in dramatic fashion, as forward Troy Brouwer beat his former team by scoring with just 12.9 seconds remaining in the game in front of 42,832 fans, according to ESPN NHL:
With the win, Washington also reversed a long-running trend of home teams struggling in outdoor games, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Washington sports fans have grown accustomed to watching the Washington Nationals baseball team compete at Nationals Park, but Caps personnel did a fantastic job transforming the ballpark into an NHL facility, as seen in this photo courtesy of Nats reliever Drew Storen:
The photo also illustrates just how sunny it was, which was a major concern entering Thursday"s game. According to ESPN.comnews services, there was some thought given to delaying the game in order to get the sun under control.
However, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly wanted to avoid that if possible.
"Nobody wants to delay the game," Daly told ESPN.com. "So if there"s any way we can avoid delaying the game, we"re going to avoid delaying the game."
Daly"s preference ultimately won out, and the festivities kicked off at 1 p.m. ET as scheduled with the caveat that the Capitals and Blackhawks would switch ends midway through the first period, per ESPN NHL:
That was done in order to ensure that the teams were on a level playing field and that neither gained any type of advantage due to the sun.
One player who took steps to combat the sunny conditions was Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner, who opted to wear sunglasses, according to SportsCenter:
When the game officially got underway, the temperature was a bit higher than it has traditionally been in past Winter Classic games, as pointed out by SI NHL:
After the usual feeling-out process for the first several minutes of the game, the hometown Caps struck first just over seven minutes into the contest.
A tough bounce of the puck on choppy ice past Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook allowed Capitals forward Eric Fehr to go in all alone against goaltender Corey Crawford.
Fehr made no mistake as he tucked it past Crawford for his 11th goal of the season. According to NHL.com"s Dan Rosen, Winter Classic glory has become commonplace for the 29-year-old winger:
In fact, that goal made Fehr the all-time leading goal scorer in outdoor-game history, per NHL Public Relations:
Less than two minutes after the mandatory side change, the Capitals struck once again. After stopping a shot from Washington defenseman Mike Green, Crawford was beaten once again as superstar winger Alex Ovechkin lit the lamp for the 18th time this season.
The puck was right in the wheelhouse of the three-time Hart Trophy winner, and there was little chance of The Great Eight misfiring, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet:
With the Capitals leading 2-0, the crowd celebrated raucously. It was clear that the Blackhawks needed to turn things around quickly, and that is exactly what they did.
Caps forward Nicklas Backstrom was whistled for holding Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews at the 13:29 mark, and Chicago made Washington pay a mere seven seconds later when Patrick Sharp scored a power-play goal to make it 2-1.
Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane assisted on Sharp"s seventh tally of the season, and Sharp entered the outdoor record books in the process, per Christopher Kamka of SportsNet Chicago:
That was the extent of the scoring in what was an exciting first period, and the Caps entered the locker room with a 2-1 lead.
According to SI NHL, neither team struggled to generate offensive chances during the opening stanza:
The second period began with the Capitals pressing forward, and they very nearly scored twice in the early going. After netting a goal in the first period, Ovechkin proceeded to hit the post two times near the beginning of the second:
Chicago was clearly leading a charmed life after those two near-misses, and its great fortune improved even more just three minutes into the frame, as winger Brandon Saad beat Capitals backstop Braden Holtby to knot the contest at 2-2.
The goal was a picture-perfect one. Toews took a feed from Marian Hossa before dishing a great pass to Saad, who put the puck in a wide-open net. It was the definition of a tic-tac-toe play, although the Hawks did benefit from a Capitals miscue, according to Stephen Whyno ofThe Canadian Press:
Toews" assist also continued a record-breaking trend as he became the all-time leading NHL outdoor scorer, per Mark Lazerus of theChicago Sun-Times:
With momentum on their side, the Blackhawks had a great chance to seize the lead nearly halfway through the second period, as a pair of minor penalties to the Capitals" Tom Wilson and John Carlson gave Chicago a five-on-three power play for 1:29.
The Hawks were unable to capitalize, though, and the two teams entered the third period with the score tied 2-2.
Play was even for much of the final frame, but the Capitals had a chance to regain the lead when Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw was called for tripping Joel Ward 8:21 into the period.
It was only Washington"s second power play of the game as opposed to five for Chicago, but the Hawks weathered the storm by killing it off and keeping the score tied.
Things seemed to be trending toward overtime in the closing minutes of the third, but the Blackhawks were given a shot to win in regulation when defenseman Matt Niskanen was called for boarding Shaw.
As pointed out by Mike Ashmore ofThe Trentonian, it was an undisciplined play on the part of the Washington blueliner:
With the Caps" penalty about to expire, the officials evened things out a bit by sending Toews to the box on a questionable hooking callwith1:13 left, per Mike Harrington ofThe Buffalo News:
That penalty proved to be a deadly one for the Blackhawks, as the Capitals took advantage with 12.9 seconds remaining in the game. With just seconds remaining on the clock, former Hawks forward Brouwer scored a power-play goal, and it proved to be the game-winner.
While Brouwer was the one who beat Crawford, Ovechkin made the play happen. He carried the puck into the zone before having his stick slashed out of his hands.
Brouwer picked up the loose puck and fired it into the back of the net to send the Caps fans home happy.
Not only was the win a big one for the Capitals in terms of the Winter Classic"s prestige, but it also moved them up to third place in the Eastern Conference"s Metropolitan Division and solidified their current playoff positioning.
Chicago missed out on a chance to extend its lead over the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division, but it remains the No. 2 team in the Western Conference with 52 points.
There is always something extra special about the Winter Classic, and the manner in which this one ended made it that much better. Both teams will try and build on the game and continue to make their push for the postseason.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2316486-winter-classic-2015-score-and-twitter-reaction-from-blackhawks-vs-capitals
