The annual New Year's Day NHL Winter Classic took place again on Tuesday afternoon, and it still draws a tremendous crowd, despite not being the only outdoor hockey game of the year anymore. Either way, this year's game had added hype around it since it was an Original Six showdown at Notre Dame Stadium. The Boston Bruins doubled-up the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2, on this day, moving in to third place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins jumped over both the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens in the standings with their victory, which is their second in a row, after dropping consecutive games. Tuuka Rask made 36 saves on the day, while Sean Kuraly had the official go-ahead goal in the victory.
Kuraly's game-winner came with 9:40 to play in the third period, as Boston improved to 2-1-0 in the Winter Classic. Their other victory came over the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, in overtime in 2010 at Fenway Park. Their lone loss was a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Canadiens in 2016 at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.
Kuraly stayed hot in the clutch, coming off an overtime winning goal over the Sabres last Saturday, as he now has four goals on the season. David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron both scored for Boston, who now has 46 points in the standings.
The Blackhawks dropped their second game in regulation over their past seven contests since December 18th. Brendan Perlini and Dominik Kahun both scored for Chicago, who got 32 saves from Cam Ward in defeat. They are now 1-5 in regular season outdoor games, dropping their fourth regulation contest in the Winter Classic. They did strike first, but with the loss, they remain in second-to-last place in the Central Division, only ahead of the St. Louis Blues.
The Bruins will return home on Thursday night to host the first-place Calgary Flames, while the Blackhawks will be on the road that same night against the New York Islanders.
Kuraly's game-winner came with 9:40 to play in the third period, as Boston improved to 2-1-0 in the Winter Classic. Their other victory came over the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1, in overtime in 2010 at Fenway Park. Their lone loss was a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Canadiens in 2016 at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.
Kuraly stayed hot in the clutch, coming off an overtime winning goal over the Sabres last Saturday, as he now has four goals on the season. David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron both scored for Boston, who now has 46 points in the standings.
The Blackhawks dropped their second game in regulation over their past seven contests since December 18th. Brendan Perlini and Dominik Kahun both scored for Chicago, who got 32 saves from Cam Ward in defeat. They are now 1-5 in regular season outdoor games, dropping their fourth regulation contest in the Winter Classic. They did strike first, but with the loss, they remain in second-to-last place in the Central Division, only ahead of the St. Louis Blues.
The Bruins will return home on Thursday night to host the first-place Calgary Flames, while the Blackhawks will be on the road that same night against the New York Islanders.
