The annual NHL Winter Classic won’t have a wintry feel Monday when the Pittsburgh Penguins play the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park. The Winter Classic weather report calls for temperatures near 50 at game time with virtually no chance of precipitation.
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Winter Classic Weather Report: Penguins-Bruins
Per the Weather Channel, the Winter Classic weather report for Boston calls for 50 degrees at the 2 p.m. start, with a less than 2% chance of rain throughout the afternoon. It’s a fortunate forecast, with rain expected almost all day Tuesday.
The traditional New Year’s Day game was moved to Jan. 2. The NFL played a full schedule on Jan. 1.
“To have an opportunity to participate in a hockey game in Fenway Park, for me, is the thrill of a lifetime,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, a Massachusetts native, told the Penguins website. “It’s a special place. It’s really a unique ballpark. The history, I think, is well chronicled. It speaks for itself. But being a Boston kid born and raised there, and being such a big Red Sox fan … I can’t put it into words how excited I am.”
Last season in the Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild at Target Field in Minneapolis, the temperature was minus-6 at puck drop. In 2020, it was 55 degrees at the start of the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Those are the coldest and warmest games in its 13-game history.
The 2010 Winter Classic between the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers was played at Fenway Park with a puck-drop temperature of 35.
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The Bruins are 3-1-0 playing outdoors, and the Penguins are 2-2-1. Boston, which leads the NHL standings, is the moneyline favorite at -170, with the Penguins +140 (FanDuel). The home team has won 11 of the past 16 NHL outdoor games.
The total is 6.5 (over +102, under -124). Two Winter Classic games have had more than six goals scored (10, 2009; 10, 2020).
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has scored four points (two goals, two assists) in his five outdoor games.
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has scored four points (one goal, three assists) in his four outdoor games. Boston forward David Pastrnak has scored four goals in two outdoor games.
None of the goalies on either team have played in an NHL outdoor game. This is the 36th regular-season outdoor game in NHL history.
