College football has long owned New Year’s Day. But with BCS bowl games spread out through the entire first week of January now, the NHL has muscled in on its territory with the Winter Classic.
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Edition No. 3 is next Friday when the Boston Bruins host the Philadelphia Flyers at legendary Fenway Park. And while the NHL’s annual outdoor game has yet to beat college football head-to-head in the television ratings, it did post a 14-percent increase on the 2008 game between Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
That 2.5 final rating last winter came at the exact same time as the Capital One Bowl between Michigan State and Georgia (6.4) and the Gator Bowl between Nebraska and Clemson (4.1). The Outback Bowl, which started two hours earlier at 11 a.m., managed just a 2.6. Either way, the NHL and broadcast partner NBC are pleased with the buzz generated by the Classic in just two years.
“It’s the toughest ticket to get that I have seen in all of my years in Boston, including Bruins playoffs, Red Sox playoffs, Patriots championships and Celtics championships,” said Boston native and NBC analyst Mike Milbury. “This is an event.”
Those good feelings are depressed a bit in Philadelphia where the Flyers are off to a horrendous start. Expected to contend with the Capitals and Penguins for the Eastern Conference title, they are instead mired in 14th place with a 15-18-2 record and 32 standings points entering the Christmas break. They fired coach John Stevens earlier this month, yet were still blown out by both Washington, 8-2, and Pittsburgh, 6-1, under new coach Peter Laviolette.
“It’s a team that is clearly desperate to get points,” said NBC analyst Pierre McGuire.
The Winter Classic has become a point of contention among Caps fans, who are wondering when Alex Ovechkin will get his chance to shine in the event. It shouldn’t be much longer. A game in New York against the Rangers would be a natural — though Yankee Stadium is likely unavailable because it will host a new bowl game next December.
