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Bruins vs Penguins In 2023 Winter Classic Jan. 2 At Fenway Park

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2 years ago

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The Boston Bruins will indeed host their second Winter Classic at Fenway Park and third overall when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 2, 2023.

At the NHL All-Star game back in February NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed that the Boston Bruins would indeed host their third Winter Classic in the home of the Boston Red Sox. With Red Sox principal owner John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group having purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins back in December, and then Bettman confirming Fenway as the location for the 12th Winter Classic the rumors immediately began to swirl that the Bruins’ opponent would be Henry’s new team, the Penguins.

In fact, numerous sources told Boston Hockey Now and Pittsburgh Hockey Now that it would be a Sidney Crosby vs Patrice Bergeron tilt but asked not publicize it. On Wednesday though, after months of speculation, one of the worst kept secrets in the NHL was confirmed by ESPN and NHL Network insider Kevin Weekes.

 

This will be the first time the NHL has reused a venue for the Winter Classic. Bettman said that was naturally going to happen, given how many outdoor events (over 30), the NHL has held since the first Winter Classic in 2008 between the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium (now Highmark Stadium), the home of the Buffalo Bills.

The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime in their first Winter Classic and their first at Fenway in 2010. The Bruins then hosted the Montreal Canadiens in the 2016 Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium and were embarrassed 5-1 by their arch-rivals. The last Winter Classic for the Boston Bruins came in 2019 when they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at Notre Dame Stadium. That of course was the game when the Bruin began the trend of showing up for the game in costumes and were dressed as characters from the hit British Drama series Peaky Blinders.

The Boston Bruins also appeared in an outdoor game last season when they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-3 on an outdoor rink at Lake Tahoe. The Bruins kept the costumes going there as well when they showed up in early nineties-themed outfits in honor of their game uniforms that were modeled after Bruins jerseys from that era.

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