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Date | January 1, 2024 | |||||||||||||||
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Venue | T-Mobile Park | |||||||||||||||
City | Seattle, Washington | |||||||||||||||
Attendance | 47,313 | |||||||||||||||
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The 2024 NHL Winter Classic was a regular season outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Seattle Kraken and the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. The game was played at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, before a crowd of 47,313 spectators. The Flames defeated the Canadiens by a score of 4–0 before a crowd of 41,022 spectators. The Kraken defeated the Golden Knights 3–0 and became the first team to earn a shutout in a Winter Classic. [1]
The league announced the game on January 2, 2023, before the start of the previous season's Winter Classic. [2] This was the first Winter Classic held in the Pacific Time Zone, as well as Seattle's first outdoor game. [3] Vegas previously appeared in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe. [2]
This was also the first Winter Classic to take place in a stadium with a retractable roof. Due to Seattle's rainy climate that may have affected ice conditions, organizers planned on closing T-Mobile Park's retractable roof in case of heavy rainfall. [4] This could have resulted in the first "indoor" Winter Classic, and the first such game since the 2014 Heritage Classic at BC Place in Vancouver. However, on game day, the weather forecast was partly cloudy with a temperature of 44°F and only a 10% chance of rain, and the roof was left open during the game. [5]
The rink was surrounded by decorations in a nautical theme that reflected local heritage and the Kraken mythos; topographic designs were laid on the surface and the walkway between the rink and dugouts resembled docks and piers. A boathouse was used as a broadcast studio. [6] Construction of the rink began in December using a temporary ice plant to pump up to 3,000 US gallons (11,000 L) of glycol to create the rink surface. [7] A two-day fan festival was held on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in the north parking lot of Lumen Field, located adjacent to T-Mobile Park. The event included a mobile hockey museum and a display of the Stanley Cup. [8]
Both teams' uniforms were leaked to the public four days prior to their official unveiling on November 22, 2023. Players from the NBA's Utah Jazz were spotted wearing the Kraken's Winter Classic uniform inside the Delta Center, [9] while All Elite Wrestling host Renee Paquette wore the Golden Knights' Winter Classic uniform ahead of the promotion's Full Gear pay-per-view. [10] The Golden Knights wore faux-back 1917 vintage white uniforms with heritage gold stripes, gray pants and helmets, featuring a stylized gray "V" crest with petal accents and gold trim. The Kraken wore Seattle Metropolitans-inspired uniforms in the team's current colors, featuring barber-pole stripes in ice blue, vintage white and deep sea blue, and a stylized red "S" modeled after the team's logo. [11]
Scoring summary [12] | |||||
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Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
1st | SEA | Eeli Tolvanen (10) | Vince Dunn (25), Adam Larsson (9) | 4:50 | 1–0 SEA |
2nd | SEA | Will Borgen (1) | Tye Kartye (6), Eeli Tolvanen (13) | 2:19 | 2–0 SEA |
3rd | SEA | Yanni Gourde (5) | Unassisted | 2:10 | 3–0 SEA |
Penalty summary [12] | |||||
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Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
1st | None | ||||
2nd | SEA | Adam Larsson | Interference | 16:39 | 2:00 |
3rd | VGK | Brayden McNabb | Tripping | 12:10 | 2:00 |
VGK | Alex Pietrangelo | Slashing | 19:54 | 2:00 |
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Three star selections [12] | |||
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Team | Player | Statistics | |
1st | SEA | Joey Daccord | 35 saves, 1.000 SV% |
2nd | SEA | Eeli Tolvanen | 1 goal, 1 assist |
3rd | SEA | Yanni Gourde | 1 goal |
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The American national anthem was performed by 14-year-old guitarist Nikhil Bagga (who has also performed at select Kraken games at Climate Pledge Arena) accompanied by American Sign Language performer Brittany Rupik. Rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot performed during the player introductions while Seattle-based rock band Heart performed during the first intermission. [13]
During the pregame arrival for the teams, the Kraken wore outfits resembling workers from the Pike Place Fish Market, while the Golden Knights wore Elvis Presley costumes. The players were introduced during a ceremony that featured the Fish Market's employees tossing fish over the teams. [14]
In the United States, the game was televised on TNT, simulcasted on TruTV, and streamed on Max. In Canada, the TNT feed was simulcast on Sportsnet and streamed on Sportsnet+. [15]
The 2024 NHL Winter Classic surpassed the 2022 game for the lowest ratings of any Winter Classic in the United States to date, with an average of 1.1 million American viewers watching the game. [16]
The Seattle Metropolitans were a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1915 to 1924. During their nine seasons, the Metropolitans were the PCHA's most successful franchise, as they went 112–96–2 in their nine years as a franchise. The Metropolitans also won the most regular season PCHA championships, winning five times, with Seattle finishing second on three other occasions. The Metropolitans played their home games at the 2,500 seat Seattle Ice Arena located downtown at 5th and University.
Root Sports Northwest, sometimes branded simply as Root Sports, is an American regional sports network owned by the Seattle Mariners. Headquartered near Seattle in the city of Bellevue, Washington, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Seattle and Portland. It is available on cable providers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
The NHL Winter Classic is an annual outdoor ice hockey game played during the National Hockey League's (NHL) regular season on or around New Year's Day. It is generally held in a football or baseball stadium in the United States in an area with a resident NHL team, though for most of the game's existence, they are usually played in a baseball stadium to avoid scheduling and logistical conflicts with football stadiums during the National Football League regular season. The Winter Classic is distinct from the league's two other series of outdoor games, the NHL Heritage Classic and the NHL Stadium Series. The first Winter Classic was held in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. Fifteen Winter Classics have been held as of January 2024. The most recent game was played during the 2023–24 NHL season at T-Mobile Park, with the Seattle Kraken defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 3−0.
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The fourth edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Washington Capitals against the Pittsburgh Penguins; the Capitals won, 3–1. The game, rescheduled from its original 1:00 p.m. ET start time to 8:00 p.m. due to weather concerns, was telecast on NBC in the United States, and CBC (English) and RDS (French) in Canada. Pittsburgh native Jackie Evancho performed the Star Spangled Banner and Pittsburgh sports legends Mario Lemieux, Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis presided over the ceremonial dropping of the puck, and during the second intermission Harris and Bettis hosted a fan event at the outside rink.
Frozen Fury was an annual pre-season ice hockey game hosted by the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), held in Salt Lake City since 2021. A previous incarnation of the series was held between the Kings and the Colorado Avalanche in Las Vegas from 1997 to 2016. On four occasions, the Kings faced different teams instead of the Avalanche; once each against the Arizona Coyotes, the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, and the Dallas Stars. The 15th Frozen Fury was originally supposed to take place on September 29, 2012, but was cancelled due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout. It resumed September 27–28, 2013, with the New York Rangers making their debut in the series.
The 1991 outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game in Las Vegas was an exhibition pre-season game between the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings that took place on September 27, 1991, on an outside rink built over the parking lot of the Caesars Palace hotel and casino. This was the first official outdoor NHL game, and was part of the pre-season schedule for the 1991–92 NHL season for both teams.
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expansion team, the team is the first major sports franchise to represent Las Vegas. The franchise is primarily owned by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley, with Adrienne Maloof holding a minority stake. Their home games are played at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The team was founded after the NHL approved a proposal by Seattle Hockey Partners to grant an expansion franchise to the city of Seattle, and the team began play during the league's 2021–22 season. They play their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.
Joel "Joey" Daccord is a Swiss-Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 199th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2015 NHL entry draft.
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