The New York Rangers came from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 making it four out of five times the road team had won the Winter Classic.
While the Rangers may have won the game there were many events that stood out to make the weekend memorable.
The Alumni Game:
On Saturday afternoon former players from the Rangers and Flyers gathered for an alumni game between the two teams. For me the two things that stood out were Bernie Parent donning the pads to play goal and the return of Eric Lindros to Philadelphia.
Parent was the goaltender for the Broad Street Bullies in the 70's and was a big reason the Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 & 1975. An eye injury in 1979 cut short his NHL career so it was a treat for Philadelphia fans to see the greatest goalie in team history suit up in net for one more game.
Parent played for five minutes and made a couple saves before departing the game. Not a bad days work for a 66 year old goaltender.
As for Eric Lindros his return to Philadelphia was something to see just because of the soap opera surrounding him and the Flyers throughout his NHL career.
When he was acquired from Quebec in 1992 he was the core piece for a Flyers team searching for an identity since the days of the Broad Street Bullies. He won an MVP award in 1995 (in a short season I must add) and led Philadelphia to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals where they were swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.
Despite losing in the Finals many people thought it was only a matter of time before Lindros led Philadelphia to a Stanley Cup title. Instead he clashed with GM Bobby Clarke and battled concussions before sitting out the entire 2001 season and forcing a trade to the New York Rangers.
When I heard he would play in the Winter Classic part of me was hoping he would turn heel and play for the Rangers. Instead he suited up for Philadelphia which was the right thing to do as that is where he made his biggest impact.
While things may have ended bitterly when he left Philadelphia in 2001 he received a standing ovation when he took the ice at Citizens Bank Park. After 10 years it looks like all was forgiven between Lindros and the Flyers.
That being said watching him take the ice in an orange Flyers sweater just reminded me how much I hated him as a player.
The Winter Classic start time:
Last years Winter Classic was moved from noon to 7 PM because of rain. While conditions weren't perfect there was something magical about playing outdoors under the lights.
This years Winter Classic was only pushed back two hours because of weather conditions. The result was the game finishing under the lights as the sun was setting in Philadelphia.
Maybe it's just me but I think it adds for a cool ambiance. I'm not sure where next years Winter Classic is going to be held. (Rumor has it Detroit is the favorite.) Wherever it is the NHL should consider starting it at 2 PM and have the teams play into the night.
The Jerseys:
Each year the teams participating in the Winter Classic wear a special jersey to celebrate the heritage of the game.
The New York Rangers went with a cream colored jersey with a modified team logo on the front. On the ice the jersey looked as sweet as any jersey I've seen on the ice. It would be a shame if the Rangers didn't add this as an alternate jersey.
As for the Philadelphia Flyers I've never been a fan of their jerseys, logo or color scheme but I will say the orange jersey with black shoulders and black trim did look sharp on the ice.
It was a big improvement over the one they wore in Boston for the 2010 Winter Classic.
Mike Rupp:
Rupp broke into the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in 2003. While he has been a checking line forward for most of his NHL career Rupp has found a way to stand out during some big NHL moments.
He scored his first playoff goal in 2003. That goal just happened to be the game winning goal in the Devils 3-0 Game seven win over Anaheim clinching New Jersey's 3rd Stanley Cup.
In the Winter Classic with the Rangers down 2-0 to the Flyers, Rupp scored the first goal for New York getting the Rangers back into the game. Rupp would score again in the 3rd period to tie the game for New York. Some players step up in big moments. Other times big moments just happened to find certain players.
Brad Richards:
Richards was the marquee free agent of the 2011 class with at least five different teams bidding for his services. Richards ultimately chose to play for the Rangers signing a nine year contract worth 60 million dollars.
I'm always curious to see how a player does in New York when they choose to play there. Sometimes they thrive like Mark Messier did when he joined the blueshirts in 1991. For the most part thou elite players seem to have trouble living up to expectations or the Rangers teams they are on are never as good as they should be.
Richards is only three months into his contract but in his first big moment as a Ranger he scored what proved to be the game winning goal of the Winter Classic. I have a feeling he'll turn out a lot better for New York than Scott Gomez and Chris Drury did when they signed with the Rangers in 2007.
The Penalty Shot:
Each Winter Classic has one moment or event that stands out and makes it memorable. In this years Winter Classic that moment is the Penalty Shot.
Down 3-2 late in the 3rd period the Flyers pull their goalie to get the extra attacker on the ice. During a scramble in front of the net Ryan McDonagh is called for covering the puck in the crease. As a result a penalty shot is awarded to Philadelphia.
With 19 seconds to play in the game the Flyers have the player they want, Danny Briere, taking the penalty shot against Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Briere skates in and tries to go five hole only to have Lundqvist show it then take it away from him.
New York would hold off Philadelphia during the last nineteen seconds of the game and skate away with not only a 3-2 victory but two points in the standings. When these two teams play each other it always seems as points are at a premium so keep that in mind as the season goes along.
In the end this Winter Classic was memorable to me for the reasons I listed above. As to whether it was the greatest one of all time I am going to let history be the judge on that as this event continues to evolve. One thing I do know is that the Flyers are now 0-2 all time in the Winter Classic.
I love happy endings.
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