The advent of outdoor hockey games over the last decade as a money-making venture for the NHL conveniently coincided with the resurgence of the Penguins and their superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Not coincidentally, the Penguins and Blackhawks, winners of six of the past 10 Stanley Cup championships, have been chosen to appear in the most outdoor games.
The Blackhawks have played in six such contests, including this year’s Winter Classic at historic Notre Dame Stadium. The Penguins will be playing in their fifth game in the great outdoors Saturday night (8 p.m., NBC) when they face the Flyers at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL’s Eagles.
Here’s a look back at the Penguins’ four other outdoor games:
Jan. 1, 2008
Penguins 2, Sabres 1, SO
Buffalo, N.Y., Ralph Wilson Stadium
Attendance: 72,217
National TV rating: 2.6
With a cast of young stars, including Crosby and Malkin, the up-and-coming Penguins were an obvious choice to be chosen to play in the inaugural Winter Classic. The Sabres had lost each of the previous two Eastern Conference finals and were in the midst of a rebuild. However, Buffalo proved to be the perfect host city as the game was played in an almost snow globe-like setting and 30-degree temperatures. With snow flurries falling throughout the day and both teams wearing vintage uniforms, the game essentially set the standard for all outdoor games to come. Though there were ice issues throughout the game that forced a few short delays, the largest crowd to ever witness an NHL game, at the time, didn’t mind a bit. Colby Armstrong put the Penguins ahead 1-0 just :21 seconds into the game on an assist from Crosby. That lead looked like it might hold up until Brian Campbell scored on Ty Conklin, playing in place of injured starter Marc-Andre Fleury, at the 1:25 mark of the second period. After neither team scored over the remainder of regulation or overtime, the game was decided in a shootout. After Kris Letang scored on Ryan Miller, Conklin denied Maxim Afinogenov to set the stage for -- who else? -- Crosby. Skating deliberately down the middle of the snowy ice, Crosby plowed a shot through Miller’s five-hole to win the game.
Jan. 1, 2011
Capitals 3, Penguins 1
Pittsburgh, Heinz Field
Attendance: 68,111
National TV rating: 2.3
The 2011 Winter Classic was as much Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin as it was Penguins vs. Capitals. The first-round picks in the 2004 and ’05 drafts had already established an — at times — heated personal rivalry. Crosby and Ovechkin had exactly 571 points each to that date and it was just one game earlier that Crosby saw his 25-game points streak snapped, which had been the NHL’s longest since Mats Sundin’s 30-game run in 1992-93. At least at the time, both teams were thought to be at the peak of their powers. The Penguins entered the game with a 25-11-3 record while the Capitals were 22-12-5. An epic clash between the two faces of the NHL seemed perfect. Except it wasn’t. After the New Year’s Eve alumni game featuring Mario Lemieux, nothing seemed to go right for Pittsburgh. For one, mother nature didn’t cooperate. A warm front settled in over Western Pa., sending temperatures into the high-50’s, about 20 degrees above normal. The game, which had been scheduled for 1 p.m., was moved to 8 p.m. due to concerns about the playing surface. The game itself was a slog-fest played in a drizzle and on bad ice. Malkin opened the scoring at 2:13 of the second period but Washington reeled off three unanswered goals, two of them off the stick of Eric Fehr, as the Capitals skated off with the win. Afterward, the bitter rivals refused to go through a handshake line, breaking with what had been the custom. The defining moment, of course, came in the final seconds of the second period when the Capitals’ David Steckel blindsided Crosby, colliding with him behind the play. Though dazed, Crosby finished out the game. Four nights later, he was hit hard from behind by the Lightning’s Viktor Hedman, ending his season with what was called a concussion, stemming from the Steckel hit. After overcoming a potentially career-threatening injury, Crosby returned the following December.
March 1, 2014
Blackhawks 5, Penguins 1
Chicago, Ill. Soldier Field
Attendance: 62,921
National TV rating: 1.6
For all their postseason successes, the Penguins and Blackhawks -- the two most successful teams of the new century -- failed to meet in a Stanley Cup Final. But they did meet in the last of four Stadium Series games held in 2014. That year, in addition to the Winter Classic held in Ann Arbor, Mich., outdoor games were held at Dodger Stadium, the first in a warm weather city, along with two games at Yankee Stadium. After hosting the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field, Chicago’s Soldier Field — home of the NFL’s Bears — was chosen as the venue for the Blachkawks’ second outdoor game. Though it was a great team matchup, Blackhawks-Penguins failed to live up to the hype. With snow falling throughout and temperatures plunging into the teens, the game was not aesthetically pleasing. Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg gave the Blackhawks a 3-0 lead before the Penguins got on the board with James Neal’s goal at 6:21 of the third period. However, Toews and Bryan Bickell tacked on goals to make it a 5-1 final.
Feb. 25, 2017
Penguins 4, Flyers 2
Pittsburgh, Heinz Field
Attendance: 67,318
National TV rating: 1.1
Penguins vs. Flyers doesn’t need much additional build-up. But after years of speculation over when and where the bitter, in-state rivals might meet in an outdoor game, they finally clashed in 2017. Instead of a neutral-site game like Beaver Stadium in State College, the league opted to award a Stadium Series to each city. Pittsburgh was the first to play host in 2017, returning to Heinz Field with the chance at bettering the rain-dampened Winter Classic six years earlier. Though the weather cooperated, the game was a bit of a mismatch as the defending Stanley Cup champions scored a convincing win over a Flyers team that finished sixth in the division. The Penguins received goals from Crosby, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen and Chad Ruhwedel, while Jakub Voracek and Shayne Gostisbehere tallied for the Flyers. Four months later, the Penguins went on to become the first team in 19 years to repeat as champions.