2017 NHL Winter Classic

1 2 3 Total Chicago Blackhawks 1 0 0 1 St. Louis Blues 0 1 3 4
Date	January 2, 2017
Venue	Busch Stadium
City	St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance	46,556
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The2017 NHL Winter Classic (officially the2017Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic)^[1] was anoutdoorice hockey game played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) on January 2, 2017, atBusch Stadium inSt. Louis,Missouri. The ninth edition of theWinter Classic, it matched theSt. Louis Blues against theChicago Blackhawks; the Blues won, 4−1. The game was announced on March 9, 2016, after news of the matchup had been leaked on February 7 before the details had been finalized,^[2] and was one of four outdoor regular season games during the2016–17 NHL season.

St. Louis had expressed interest in an outdoor game as early as 2011, with this matchup being their first.^[3]

The Blackhawks played in their third Winter Classic, following appearances in2009 and2015; with the appearance, the Blackhawks will have appeared in the contest more times than any other team. It is also the fourth consecutive year (and fifth overall) in which the Blackhawks play an outdoor game, having also played the2014 and2016Stadium Series in addition to the 2015 and 2017 Winter Classics.

This matchup was of the storiedBlackhawks–Blues rivalry, both members of the NHL'sCentral Division. The game was held in St. Louis to mark the 50th anniversary of theGreat Expansion of 1967, in which the Blues,Pittsburgh Penguins,Philadelphia Flyers,Los Angeles Kings,Minnesota North Stars (which became theDallas Stars in 1993) andCalifornia Golden Seals (who merged with the North Stars in 1978; theSan Jose Sharks were then spun off from the North Stars in 1991) were formed, doubling the league's size.^[2] The Flyers and Penguins were another candidate for the 2017 Winter Classic, but scheduling conflicts with theNational Football League in both cities and winterization concerns regardingBeaver Stadium (a neutral site stadium discussed as another possibility for a Flyers–Penguins outdoor contest) led St. Louis to be chosen instead.^[2] St. Louis has no NFL or major college team, and even when it did, theRams (who left in January 2016 for Los Angeles) played in an indoor dome; Busch Stadium, a baseball venue, is the city's only sufficiently sized outdoor stadium. The Penguins and Flyers will instead playa Stadium Series game in Pittsburgh later in 2017.

The league considered havingBMO Field and theToronto Maple Leafs host the 2017 Winter Classic against theNew York Rangers, but the2016 Winter Classic, which featured theMontreal Canadiens, received the lowest U.S. ratings in the game's history. Jon Miller, president ofNBC Sports programming, credited the poor ratings to multiple factors, including severalbowl games involving teams from markets that are popularly associated with hockey, not being held at a sufficiently iconic venue, and most prominently, the presence of a Canadian team. Miller argued that having all-U.S. matchups in the Winter Classic helps to guarantee local viewership that counts towards NBC's ratings.^[4][5]

The NHL ultimately announced on March 9, 2016 that there would be two outdoor games during the New Year's weekend. First, as January 1, 2017 fell on a Sunday, the NHL followed the precedent of the2012 Winter Classic andcollege footballbowl games by scheduling the 2017 Winter Classic for Monday, January 2, instead of its customaryNew Year's Day scheduling.^[6][7] The league then announced an outdoor game would be played on New Year's Day in Toronto, known as theCentennial Classic—a re-match of the2014 Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and theDetroit Red Wings. It would be held at BMO Field to commemorate the centennial season of the Maple Leafs, and the beginning of the NHL's centennial year.^[8]

The St. Louis Blues won 4–1 behind goalieJake Allen's 22 saves, and with starVladimir Tarasenko scoring two goals in the third period turning a 1–1 tie into a 3–1 lead. An empty-net goal provided the 4–1 final score.Michal Kempný had the Chicago Blackhawks' only goal.^[9]

Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season

In the United States, the game was broadcast byNBC. In Canada, the game was broadcast in English onSportsnet, and in French byTVA Sports. Sportsnet simulcast NBC's feed while TVA used NBC's video.

Epix would produce a documentary series,Road to the NHL Outdoor Classics, focusing on preparations for both the Winter Classic andNHL Centennial Classic.^[10] Unlike previous years, where NBC was able to share resources with other rightsholders at the Winter Classic, NBC was the only rightsholder with a production presence at the game. St. Louis native and NBC Sports anchorBob Costas contributed to pre-game coverage.^[11]

An average of 2.557 million viewers watched the U.S. broadcast, making it the tenth highest-rated regular season broadcast on NBC, but the lowest-rated Winter Classic overall, continuing a years-long decline in viewership for the event.^[12]

The alumni game was played on Saturday, December 31, 2016, with the Blues defeating the Blackhawks 8-7.^[13]

Chicago Blackhawks[14] Coaches:Tony Esposito andCliff Koroll # Player Position 5 Steve Konroyd D 5 Jack O'Callahan D 5 Brent Sopel D 8 Steve Poapst D 10 Reg Kerr LW 10 Brian Noonan RW 13 Daniel Carcillo LW 15 Jim Cummins RW 19 Kyle Calder LW 19 Troy Murray C 22 Jamal Mayers RW 22 Grant Mulvey RW 26 David Mackey LW 29 Jimmy Waite G 30 Murray Bannerman G 33 Adrian Aucoin D 33 Reid Simpson LW 37 Adam Burish RW 40 Darren Pang G 55 Eric Daze LW 55 Ben Eager LW

St. Louis Blues[15] Coaches:Red Berenson,Bob Plager,Brian Sutter andGarry Unger # Player Position 1 Mike Liut G 2 Al MacInnis D 4 Bruce Affleck D 5 Garth Butcher D 5 Barret Jackman D 6 Larry Patey C 6 Jamie Rivers D 7 Keith Tkachuk LW 10 Dallas Drake RW 12 Adam Oates C 14 Paul Cavallini D 16 Brett Hull RW 17 Gino Cavallini LW 19 Scott Mellanby RW 21 Jeff Brown D 24 Bernie Federko C 26 Paul Stastny C 27 Bryce Salvador D 27 Terry Yake C 30 Martin Brodeur G 31 Ed Staniowski G 39 Kelly Chase RW 44 Chris Pronger D 48 Scott Young RW 50 Chris Mason G 77 Pierre Turgeon C 99 Wayne Gretzky C

Prior to the game, hip-hop artistNelly performed in front of the crowd.

The national anthem was performed by trumpeterSpencer Ludwig

During the first intermission, Nathanial Rateliff & The Nightsweats performed

The ceremonial puck drop was done byBobby Hull andBrett Hull

During the second intermission, Blues anthem singer Charles Glenn performed with his band, The Charles Glenn Band, accompanied by theMcCluer North High School choir. The songs that they performed were "God Bless America", "Ride, Sally, Ride", and "When the Blues Go Marching In".

Blues organist,Jeremy Boyer, entertained and pumped up fans throughout the game on the Busch Stadium organ. Boyer also plays organ for the St. Louis Cardinals and has played organ for both the Blues and Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

• NHL Winter Classic
• 2016–17 NHL season
• 2017 in ice hockey
• St. Louis Blues games
• Chicago Blackhawks games
• 2017 in sports in Missouri
• 2010s in St. Louis
• January 2017 sports events in the United States
• Ice hockey competitions in St. Louis

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2016