The Red Wings dressed seven defensemen for the game, as they did in their prior game, to account for Nicklas Lidstrom returning from an ankle injury. Healthy scratches included forward Tomas Kopecky and defenseman Derek Meech. The Blackhawks scratched forward Adam Burish and defenseman Aaron Johnson. Ty Conklin started in goal for the Red Wings, making him the only player to take the ice for all three regular season NHL outdoor games (after having played for the Edmonton Oilers in the Heritage Classic in 2003 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2008 NHL Winter Classic). During the intermissions, members of the Northwestern University Wildcat Marching Band and the Northern Illinois University Huskie Marching Band played on the field to entertain the crowd.