2012 NHL Winter Classic Hockey Game

2012 NHL Winter Classic Hockey GamePhiladelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

New York wins 3-2

The 2012 NHL Winter Classic was another great success. Sponsored by Bridgestone, the game was played outdoor at Citizens Bank Park which is home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The game featured the Philadelphia Flyers against the New York Rangers. The game was originally supposed to be played at Lincoln Financial Field, but an Eagles game was scheduled, which would not allow enough time for rink preparations. The game was slated for 1:00pm EST, but had to be pushed back two hours due to weather conditions. This was the first NHL Winter Classic that was not played on New Years Day. The NHL moved it back one day because they were not able to play the game on a Sunday. The game was broadcasted on NBC. The game was witnessed in person by just under 47,000 fans. The rink was surrounded by fake snow, firewood and Christmas Trees.

The game started a bit slow, as no goals were scored in the first period. The period was played with very few whistles as well. There was a total of just four penalty minutes in the first period. The Flyers were able to get 12 shots on goal, while the Rangers mustered up 9. In the second period, the goal scoring started to pick it up. Philadelphia got the party started at the 12:26 mark as Branden Schenn scored his first goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Matt Carle. Just two minutes later Claude Giroux scored his 18th goal of the season and gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Maxime Talbot and Scott Hartnell. Just 0:30 later, the Rangers got on the board, as Mike Rupp scored his second goal of the season. This goal was assisted by Brandon Prust and John Mitchell. The entire second period was played with no penalties called.

The game stood at 2-1 for nearly three minutes through the third period. At the 2:41 mark, Mike Rupp notched another goal; once again from Brandon Prust and John Mitchell. Nearly 3:00 later the Rangers scored their third and final goal of the game. This time, Brad Richards scored his 14th goal of the season. Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan chipped in, with the assist. There were a total of 18 minutes of penalties called in the final period of the game. The game ended with a 10:00 misconduct from Scott Hartnell for a cross checking misconduct.

Henrik Lundqvist was the man in goal for the Rangers. Lundqvist notched 34 saves, on 36 shots on goal. For the Flyers, Sergei Bobrovsky was tested 33 times, saving 30 of them. Neither team scored on the three power play chances they were given during the game.

The Most Valuable Player of the game was Mike Rupp with his two goals scored. Rupp is also known for his winning goal in game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup, when he was a member of the New Jersey Devils. The win for the Rangers made the road teams 4-0-1 in the lifetime of the NHL Winter Classic.

The win for the Rangers moved them to 24-9-4 on the season. Their 52 points is tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the most in the league. The Rangers lead the Boston Bruins by three points for the most in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia fell to 22-11-4. The Flyers points is the third most in the Eastern Conference. New York’s next game is Thursday, at home against the Florida Panthers. The next time Phialdelphia plays is Thursday, at home, against the Chicago Blackhawks.