2022 NHL Winter Classic Notes

Posted on by

MINNEAPOLIS — Watching the weather forecast over the last two weeks, there was little doubt that the 2022 Winter Classic would be one of the coldest outdoor games in NHL History. And it was — by a whopping 22 degrees.Photo: JohnRothwell@prohockeynews.com

When the puck was dropped on Saturday night’s game at Target Field, the game-time temperature was negative-8 degrees. The previous cold temp for a Winter Classic was 13 degrees at the 2014 game between Toronto and Detroit at Michigan Stadium. The coldest NHL outdoor game was the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton, when the Oilers took on Montreal at Commonwealth Stadium. That night the temperature was zero degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind chill temperature made it feel significantly colder.

The players were dressed for it in the warmups, with only a couple of skaters wearing helmets; most were wearing their teams pom-pom hats. Many of the Wild players had balaclavas on, and some had hats with ear flaps. 

And then there are the Blues, who made a social-media splash by leaving their hotel and arriving at the stadium in summer-wear.

“We had a few ideas, and actually, it was kind of last minute of course; we don’t plan that far ahead,” said Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly. “And we’re kind of panicking a few days before what we’re going to do.”

The team embraced the look — especially in the cold weather.

“We knew it was a bold move and we kind of went all in and we had fun with it,” goalie Jordan Binnington said. “And I think it was something we just figured when we’re 50 years old looking back: Are you gonna want to see getting off the bus in a suit or you know something funny like that and you can laugh about it and have some good pictures to look back on?”

The group chat came to the consensus of beachwear, but a lumberjack look was a close second.

“Well, I actually ordered 30 lumberjack shirts two days before leaving,” Binnington said to the media postgame. “So for anyone who needs a lumberjack shirt, I’ve got a couple larges and XLs.”

Local ties

There are four skaters — two on each team — that have Minnesota ties. St. Louis defensemen Justin Faulk is from South St. Paul, and Scott Perunovich from Hibbing. For the Wild, forward Nick Bjugstad is from Blaine, and defenseman Alex Goligoski is from Grand Rapids.

For Bjugstad, the severe cold while playing isn’t anything he hasn’t experienced. He played with Blaine High School as part of the 2008 Hockey Day Minnesota in Baudette Bay, on the Rainy River which is the border between the U.S. and Canada. The Bengals lost 1-0 to Roseau High School. He also played for the University of Minnesota, he lost 3-2 to Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago as part of the 2013 OfficeMax Hockey City Classic.

“My high school one was the most treacherous,” Bjugstad said two weeks ago, referring to his freshman year game in northern Minnesota. “It was minus 20 (degrees) and obviously they didn’t have an NHL set up. But it was a very cool memory.”

Pregame festivities

Minnesota Twins legend and 2022 Hall of Fame inductee Tony Oliva handled the ceremonial puck drop between Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly and Goligoski, who was standing in for injured captain Jared Spurgeon. 

Niklas Backstrom, Mikko Koivu, and Minnesota North Stars legend Lou Nanne handled leading the crowd in the “Let’s Play Hockey,” chat. Usually, it’s done from a perch high above Xcel Energy Center ice. For this game, it done on a stage constructed over home plate where the first intermission concert is held.