2024 NHL Winter Classic

The 2024 NHL Winter Classic was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. The game was played on January 1, 2024, between the two most recent NHL expansion teams: hosts Seattle Kraken and the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken won 3–0 and became the first team to earn a shutout in a Winter Classic.
==Background==
The league announced the game on January 2, 2023, before the start of the previous season's Winter Classic. This was the first Winter Classic held in the Pacific Time Zone, as well as Seattle's first outdoor game. Vegas previously appeared in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe.
This as also the first Winter Classic to take place in a stadium with a retractable roof. Due to Seattle's rainy climate that may have affected ice conditions, organizers planned on closing T-Mobile Park's retractable roof in case of heavy rainfall. This could have resulted in the first "indoor" Winter Classic, and the first such game since the 2014 Heritage Classic at BC Place in Vancouver.
The rink was surrounded by decorations in a nautical theme that reflected local heritage and the Kraken mythos; topographic designs were laid on the surface and the walkway between the rink and dugouts resembled docks and piers. A boathouse was used as a broadcast studio. Construction of the rink began in December using a temporary ice plant to pump up to of glycol to create the rink surface. A two-day fan festival was held on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in the north parking lot of Lumen Field, located adjacent to T-Mobile Park. The event included a mobile hockey museum and a display of the Stanley Cup.
==Game summary==
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	SEA 	Eeli Tolvanen (10)	Vince Dunn (25), Adam Larsson (9) 	4:50 	1–0 SEA
2nd 	SEA 	Will Borgen (1) 	Tye Kartye (6), Eeli Tolvanen (13)	2:19 	2–0 SEA
3rd 	SEA 	Yanni Gourde (5) 	Unassisted 	2:10 	3–0 SEA
:Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season
Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary 	Penalty summary	Penalty summary	Penalty summary
Period 	Team 	Player 	Penalty 	Time 	PIM
1st 	None 	None 	None 	None 	None
2nd 	SEA 	Adam Larsson 	Interference 	16:39 	2:00
3rd 	VGK 	Brayden McNabb 	Tripping 	12:10 	2:00
3rd 	VGK 	Alex Pietrangelo	Slashing 	19:54 	2:00
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	Total
VGK 	10 	10 	15 	35
SEA 	10 	11 	6 	27
Power play opportunities	Power play opportunities
Team 	Goals/Opportunities
Vegas 	0/1
Seattle 	0/2
Three star selections	Three star selections	Three star selections	Three star selections
 	Team 	Player 	Statistics
1st 	SEA 	Joey Daccord 	35 saves, 1.000 SV%
2nd 	SEA 	Eeli Tolvanen 	1 goal, 1 assist
3rd 	SEA 	Yanni Gourde 	1 goal
==Entertainment==
The American national anthem was performed by 14-year-old guitarist Nikhil Bagga (who has also performed at select Kraken games at Climate Pledge Arena). Rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot performed during the player introductions while Seattle-based rock band Heart performed during the first intermission.
During the pregame arrival for the teams, the Kraken wore outfits resembling workers from the Pike Place Fish Market, while the Golden Knights wore Elvis Presley costumes. The players were introduced during a ceremony that featured the Fish Market's employees tossing fish over the teams.
==Broadcasting==
In the United States, the game was televised on TNT and streamed on Max. In Canada, the TNT feed was simulcast on Sportsnet and streamed on Sportsnet+.
==References==
Category:NHL Winter Classic
Winter Classic
Category:Seattle Kraken games
Category:Vegas Golden Knights games
Category:Ice hockey in Seattle