The 2023 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on January 2, 2023, at Fenway Park in Boston. The 14th edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Boston Bruins against the Pittsburgh Penguins; the Bruins won, 2–1.

Background

On February 4, 2022, the NHL announced that the 2023 NHL Winter Classic would take place at Fenway Park, hosted by the Boston Bruins. Fenway Park became the first venue to host two Winter Classics, having previously hosted the 2010 NHL Winter Classic. ESPN reported in February 2022 that the Pittsburgh Penguins would likely be the opponent after Fenway Sports Group, owner of Fenway Park, took over majority control of the Penguins in December 2021. The league confirmed that it would be the Penguins on April 13. The NHL moved the Winter Classic to Monday, January 2, as it had in

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and

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, declining to hold the event on a Sunday. In addition, the game returned to its customary afternoon start time (2 p.m. EST).

Game summary

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Team rosters

Entertainment

Bell Biv DeVoe, accompanied by the Boston Pops Orchestra, performed the national anthem while the Black Keys performed during the first intermission. Country music artist Sam Hunt performed during pregame.

Broadcasting

The game was broadcast by TNT in the U.S. and

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

in Canada. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports reported that the game was the most-watched regular season hockey game of all-time in the United States, averaging 1.8 million viewers throughout the broadcast and peaking at 2.1 million viewers toward the end of the game.

References

{{NHL on Sportsnet NHL Winter Classic Winter Classic

NHL Winter Classic The NHL Winter Classic (french: La Classique hivernale de la LNH) is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year's Day, generally in a football or baseball stadium in an area ...

Boston Bruins games Pittsburgh Penguins games Sports competitions in Boston Ice hockey in Boston 2023 in Boston