January 1: Pittsburgh wins first Winter Classic

IT HAPPENED ON… January 1st

2008 : NHL celebrates New Years with first Winter Classic, as Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Buffalo Sabers 2-1 in a shootout in front of 71,217 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY .

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A few fans in the NHL’s first away game in the United States are still scrambling for seats as Penguins forward Colby Armstrong opens the scoring 21 seconds after the first face-off. Sabers defenseman Brian Campbell gives the answer to 1:25 of the second.

Neither team finds the net for the remainder of regulation time or the five-minute overtime period in a game that looks like a snow globe. The light snowfall creates an almost unreal atmosphere.

Sidney Crosby scores the decisive goal in the third round of the shootout to give the victory to the Penguins. Ty Conklin makes 36 saves for Pittsburgh and pushes back two more Buffalo shootouts.

Video: Crosby wins the 2008 Winter Classic

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

1961 : Boston Bruins rookie Willie O’Ree, the first black player in League history, scores his first goal. He beat Charlie Hodge for what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Boston Garden.

1973 : Bobby Orr ties an NHL record for a defenseman with six assists in the Bruins’ 8-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Pacific Coliseum. Orr matches the record set by Babe Pratt on Jan. 8, 1944 and tied by Pat Stapleton on March 30, 1969. Phil Esposito scores a hat trick as Johnny Bucyk becomes the first player to score 400 goals for the Bruins.

1997 : The Ottawa Senators hold off the Bruins 3-2 for their first win over Boston since joining the league in 1992. The Senators are 0-20 with two draws against Boston before the win.

2014 : A crowd of 105,491 fans, the largest for an NHL game, gather at Michigan Stadium to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout in the 2014 Bridgestone Winter Classic of the NHL. Tyler Bozak scores in the third period to give Toronto a 2-1 lead, then settles the debate in the third round of the shootout.

2015 : Troy Brouwer scores the game-winning goal with 12.9 seconds left in the third period to propel the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington. While the captain of the Blackhawks Jonathan Toews sits on the penalty bench for crashing, Brouwer beats Corey Crawford to break the tie.

2016 : Paul Byron scored twice and the Canadiens defeated the Bruins 5-1 in the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Canadiens goaltender Mike Condon, from the Boston area, made 27 saves, allowing only one goal in the third period to Adam McQuaid.

Video: Condon frustrates Spooner at the last moment

2017 : The NHL kicks off its 100th anniversary celebrations by presenting the Scotiabank Centennial Classic at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. The 40,148 supporters see Auston Matthews score with 1:20 left in overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 5-4 victory over the Red Wings. Toronto took a 4-1 lead before Detroit wiped out the deficit in the final six minutes of the third period, including Anthony Mantha’s tying goal with 1.1 seconds left.

2020 : A crowd of 85,630 fans attend Cotton Bowl Stadium to see the home team, the Dallas Stars, come from behind to defeat the Nashville Predators 4-2 at the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The Predators scored two power-play goals in the first period, but Dallas responded with four consecutive goals, with Alexander Radulov’s power-play goal 5:06 from the third being the game-winner. It is the second largest crowd in the history of the Winter Classic.

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