Outdoor Games
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OUTDOOR GAMES The National Hockey League will contest two outdoor games during the 2014-15 season: the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. The Capitals will play host to the Blackhawks in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which will take place on Thursday, Jan. 1, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. (1:00 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVA). This marks the second outdoor game appearance for the Capitals, who also participated in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Blackhawks will be skating in their third outdoor game, following their appearances in the 2009 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field and 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Soldier Field, both in Chicago. The Sharks will face the Kings in the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 21, at the recently-opened Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN, HNIC, TVA Sports 2). The Sharks will become the 19th team to participate in an outdoor game with their appearance in the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. The Kings, meanwhile, will be playing in an outdoor game in California for the second consecutive season following their appearance in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Outdoor Games Facts & Figures * To date, there have been 13 regular-season outdoor games contested since 2003-04. Of those 13 games, seven have been hosted in football venues, while six have been hosted in baseball stadiums. * The NHL’s 13 regular-season outdoor games have drawn total attendance of 740,251 – an average of 56,942 per game. * A total of 448 players and head coaches have participated in the League’s 13 regular-season outdoor games to date. * Road teams are 10-2-1 in outdoor games, including a 5-1-0 mark during the 2013-14 season. The Blackhawks secured the lone victory by a home team in 2013-14 with a 5-1 win over the Penguins in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Soldier Field. * The first regular-season outdoor game in NHL history took place on Nov. 22, 2003, when the Canadiens defeated the Oilers 4-3 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton in the 2003 Molson Canadian NHL Heritage Classic. * The Winter Classic debuted on Jan. 1, 2008, at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., where the Penguins defeated the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout. * The Coors Light NHL Stadium Series debuted during the 2013-14 season with four games: at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Yankee Stadium in New York (2 games) and Soldier Field in Chicago. * The crowd of 105,491 at the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Red Wings and Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium shattered the NHL’s single-game attendance record of 71,217 set at Ralph Wilson Stadium in the 2008 Winter Classic. * The Capitals have played host to the Blackhawks just three times since the start of 2006-07 season, most recently on April 11 (a 4-0 victory). Prior to that, the Blackhawks had not visited the U.S. capital since March 13, 2011. * The Sharks and Kings have met 41 times (regular season and playoffs) since the start of the 2010-11 season, the most of any two clubs in that span. That total includes three postseason meetings, highlighted by seven-game series in each of the last two playoff years. .