page_title: 2011 NHL Winter Classic
section_title: Delayed start time
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 NHL Winter Classic / Delayed start time
caption_attribution_description: The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals take the ice before the 2011 NHL Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, PA at Heinz Field
context_page_description: The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The visiting Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–1. The game, rescheduled from its original 1:00 p.m. ET start time to 8:00 p.m. due to weather concerns, was telecast on NBC in the United States, and CBC and RDS in Canada. Pittsburgh native Jackie Evancho performed the Star Spangled Banner and Pittsburgh sports legends Mario Lemieux, Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis presided over the ceremonial dropping of the puck, and during the second intermission Harris and Bettis hosted a fan event at the outside rink.
  The 2011 Winter Classic was the second time the Penguins participated in an outdoor NHL game; the team previously visited the Buffalo Sabres for the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008.
context_section_description: The game had originally been scheduled for 1:00 p.m., but due to concerns about rain, on December 31 the game was shifted to an 8:00 p.m. start. A few weeks prior, the possibility was raised that the Winter Classic might be postponed or canceled altogether. All major weather outlets forecast unseasonably warm temperatures for the day of the game, with the possibility of rain.  Heavy or constant rain was the greater concern for the NHL, as it could eventually make the ice surface unplayable.  Light rain would have frozen on contact and made the surface uneven, while hard rain could have possibly flooded the rink.  Early on the NHL had contingency plans to push the game back to January 2 if necessary, but preferred not to do so since this would have conflicted with telecasts of NFL games.  If neither date had reasonable weather, the game would have been postponed and the matchup rescheduled indoors at Consol Energy Center (now PPG Paints Arena) later in the season.  New Year's Weekend was the only time the Steelers would have allowed Heinz Field to be available, since they needed time to get it ready for any postseason home game (which could have been as early as January 8); subsequent future outdoor games in Pittsburgh now would have to either be a Stadium Series game at Heinz Field or either a Stadium Series or Winter Classic game at PNC Park to avoid future scheduling conflicts with the Steelers.
  As New Year's Day approached weather forecasts solidified that by late afternoon the Pittsburgh region would be cooling to the 40s and eventually 30s, and major precipitation would be over by early evening for the duration of the weekend.  As it turned out, the few fast-moving bands of light rain in the area had no effect on the surface, and no problems were reported.
caption: The threat of rain pushed the start time from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm ET.
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