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In only its second year, the National Hockey League’s Winter Classic has become a highly successful publicity stunt. Last year, the Buffalo Sabres played host to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a New Year’s Day game outdoors in a football stadium — and in a near-blizzard. This year, as every Chicagoan is already well aware, it will be played at Wrigley Field with the Blackhawks taking on the Detroit Red Wings. It’s mainly a way for the NHL and NBC to drop the puck on their NHL “Game of the Week” series, and the Hawks likewise have used it as the centerpiece of president John McDonough’s aggressive marketing strategy, ballyhooing the arrival of the rink, the arrival of the Zamboni, and every other detail imaginable.
Yet as the game approached it also turned into an actual grudge match, befitting the longtime rivalry between the Hawks and Wings. The Wings are the defending NHL Stanley Cup champions, and their fans have been lording it over the Hawks for years. Yet the Hawks have revived behind McDonough and new owner Rocky Wirtz, as well as new young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Hawks won nine in a row and were chasing down Detroit before the Wings won the 700th meeting between the two teams at old Joe Louis Arena Tuesday night. After the Wings weathered a couple of early penalties, they pretty much dominated the Hawks, and even Kane admitted he and his teammates “maybe got manhandled ,” as he got clobbered by former Hawk Dan Cleary and never really got back in the game. “We think we’re this great team,” he said, “and they beat us pretty good.”
