2016 NHL Winter Classic

The 2016 NHL Winter Classic (officially the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic) was an outdoor regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game, part of the Winter Classic series, played on January 1, 2016. The game, the eighth Winter Classic, saw the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins, 5–1, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a significant event in one of the NHL's best-known rivalries. A Bruins and Canadiens alumni game was also played on December 31, 2015. The Boston Pride women's professional hockey team played before the alumni game against Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women's Hockey League to a 1–1 tie in the first ever 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic (officially the Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank).
==Teams==
The Bruins made their second appearance in the Winter Classic, as they played against the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic held in Boston's Fenway Park; Massachusetts became the first market to serve as repeat host of the Winter Classic. Early reports dating back to December 2014 by TSN's Bob McKenzie indicated that Boston was the league's first choice in hosting the game.
To accommodate the event, Gillette Stadium's primary tenant, the New England Patriots, played the last two games of their 2015 season on the road. The Bruins introduced a new third jersey for the game and it featured the team's original logo, as virtually a re-creation of their inaugural 1924–25 NHL season brown/gold sweaters worn while playing their home games in Matthews Arena, which opened in 1910, now on the campus of Northeastern University. (Matthews also was the first arena for the Boston Celtics and the WHA New England Whalers, who are now the Carolina Hurricanes.)
This was the first Winter Classic appearance and third outdoor game for the Canadiens; the team previously played 2003 NHL Heritage Classic against the hosting Edmonton Oilers and the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic against the hosting Calgary Flames. The team also played in a new third jersey and used a logo from the 1920s.
The two teams are long-time rivals. As of the end of the 2014–15 NHL season, the two teams have played each other 729 times during the regular season, 177 times during the playoffs, including nine game sevens. The two teams also held a special alumni game between the two teams, on December 31 at Gillette Stadium.
==Game summary==
In the most lopsided score in the Winter Classic, four Montreal players combined to score five goals en route to a 5–1 victory against Boston. In his first game since suffering a hand injury on November 22, Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher recorded a goal and an assist. Goalie Mike Condon made 27 saves for Montreal. Matt Beleskey scored the Bruins' only goal.
Scoring summary	Scoring summary	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary 	Scoring summary	Scoring summary
Period 	Team 	Goal 	Assist(s) 	Time 	Score
1st 	MTL 	David Desharnais (8) 	Dale Weise (9) and Alexei Emelin (3) 	01:14 	1–0 MTL
2nd 	MTL 	Paul Byron (6) 	Brian Flynn (6) and Mark Barberio (1) 	02:00 	2–0 MTL
2nd 	MTL 	Brendan Gallagher (10)	Max Pacioretty (15) and Tomáš Plekanec (21) 	17:20 	3–0 MTL
3rd 	BOS 	Matt Beleskey (8) 	Adam McQuaid (6) and Ryan Spooner (17) 	03:54 	3–1 MTL
3rd 	MTL 	Max Pacioretty (16) 	Brendan Gallagher (11) and Tomáš Plekanec (22)	08:49 	4–1 MTL
3rd 	MTL 	Paul Byron (7) 	P. K. Subban (26) and Nathan Beaulieu (10) 	18:28 	5–1 MTL
:Number in parenthesis 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 	BOS 	Max Talbot 	Hi-sticking 	05:20 	2:00
1st 	MTL 	David Desharnais	Roughing (double minor)	08:42 	4:00
1st 	BOS 	Torey Krug 	Roughing (double minor)	08:44 	4:00
1st 	BOS 	Adam McQuaid 	Delay of game 	18:29 	2:00
2nd 	BOS 	Kevan Miller 	Cross-checking 	02:51 	2:00
2nd 	MTL 	Lars Eller 	Holding 	06:40 	2:00
2nd 	MTL 	Nathan Beaulieu 	Holding 	10:41 	2:00
2nd 	MTL 	Tomáš Plekanec 	Delay of game 	19:30 	2:00
3rd 	BOS 	Max Talbot 	Holding 	09:24 	2:00
3rd 	MTL 	Lars Eller 	Roughing (double minor)	18:18 	4:00
3rd 	BOS 	Jimmy Hayes 	Roughing (double minor)	18:18 	2:00
Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period	Shots by period
Team 	1 	2 	3 	Total
Montreal 	14 	11 	5 	30
Boston 	3 	14 	11 	28
Power play opportunities	Power play opportunities
Team 	Goals/Opportunities
Montreal 	0/4
Boston 	0/3
Three star selections	Three star selections	Three star selections	Three star selections
 	Team 	Player 	Statistics
1st 	MTL 	Brendan Gallagher 	1 Goal, 1 Assist
2nd 	MTL 	Mike Condon 	27 Saves
3rd 	BOS 	Matt Beleskey 	1 Goal
==Alumni Game==
In the Alumni Game on New Year's Eve, the Bruins defeated the Canadiens 5-4 in a shootout. The Canadiens alumni included Guy Carbonneau, Larry Robinson and Jose Theodore with the coaches including Guy Lafleur and Jacques Demers, while the Bruins alumni included Cam Neely, Terry O'Reilly, Mark Recchi and Ray Bourque with the coaches including Derek Sanderson, Lyndon Byers, Mike Milbury and Don "Grapes" Cherry.
==Television==
The game was televised in the United States on NBC, with commentators Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire.
In Canada, it was the second consecutive Winter Classic to be televised under the Rogers Media contract, but for the first time the English-language broadcast was shown on Sportsnet instead of on CBC Television and the Hockey Night in Canada banner. Commentary was provided by Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, and Glenn Healy. For the second consecutive time, the game was broadcast in French on TVA Sports (with commentators Félix Séguin and Patrick Lalime, and reporter Renaud Lavoie) as part of TVA's sub-licensing agreement with Rogers.
==Television ratings==
The 2016 NHL Winter Classic had the lowest ratings of any Winter Classic in the United States to date, with an average of less than 3 million American viewers watching the game.
==Entertainment==
Musical guests included American Authors, Jordan Smith, and The Boston Pops.
==References==
Category:NHL Winter Classic
Winter Classic
Category:2016 in ice hockey
Category:Boston Bruins games
Category:Montreal Canadiens games