From the moment you woke up and looked outside your window, you knew that January 1st was not going to be a typical day in Dallas, Texas. You could feel the energy in the air and the atmosphere was purely electric. Fans were flooding the streets, bringing traffic to a halt as they made their way down to Cotton Bowl Stadium. Seas of green and yellow were spread all over downtown Dallas as fans were ready to go in their respective team’s gear. Shuttle buses were filled to the brim with fans who have travelled from out of town to come to see the NHL kick off the 2020 calendar year outdoors.
Going into the outdoor game, we knew there was going to be a large crowd, but large does not correctly describe it. The Cotton Bowl Stadium sold out with 85,630 fans attending the game, making it the second-highest attendance for an NHL game In the league’s history. People had doubts about how well an outdoor game would do in the South, but the fans have shown how popular hockey truly is in what was once considered to be non-traditional hockey markets.
Hours before puck drop, the stadium was already packed with tens of thousands of fans from both fanbases making their way out to the game early. Fans wanting to get to the stadium early in the attempt to beat the flood of fans ultimately failed as there was no shortage of fans making their way down to the game over three hours ahead of puck drop.
Dallas is known for its rather warm weather conditions, especially for a hockey city, which resulted in concerns about the impact of the heat on the ice for an outdoor game. While it was originally expected to be a warm and sunny day out in northern Texas, the hockey gods were watching out to assure that the game went off without a hitch. While it may have been the warmest Winter Classic yet to date, the sun was not beaming down on the ice as it was covered by the clouds above. This was not only beneficial for the ice conditions, but also for the players who were not heavily impacted by glare which has been a problem at past outdoor games.
When the fans finally all got to their seats, the stands were jam-packed with fans. It was a sea of green and yellow as fans came to show their support at an unprecedented level. “I know that there were a lot of people who questioned whether or not we would sell any tickets for an outdoor game let alone over 85,000,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “Our fans have been great and it’s also been interesting to see a ton of green and a ton of yellow. There are more people here in yellow from Nashville then would fit in Bridgestone arena, so that’s how well Predators fans travelled.”
It was impossible to ignore the passion of the fans, even before they made their way to their seats in the stands. It seemed like every fan was geared up in their team’s apparel to show support for the outdoor game. Not only were almost all the fans sporting at least some form of team attire, but a large number were wearing Winter Classic edition apparel.
Once the players took to the ice for the national anthem and ceremonial face-off, the fans were given their first chance to put their passion and loyalty on display. During the national anthem, whenever the word “Star” in the Star Spangled Banner was sung, the stadium all would say “STAR” at the same time as an act of support to cheer on their beloved Dallas Stars.
One of the many traditions of the Winter Classic is that the stadium and field outside of the arena embodies some of the traditions and cultures of the host city. The NHL went all out with this when transforming the legendary football field into an hockey arena. Surrounding the ice, there were multiple injections of entertainment being held on the field.
It started with horseback riders on the field during the national anthem carrying flags, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The musical guests Grammy award winning duo, Dan and Shay, who performed during the first intermission, and 8tracks, who played during stoppages in play, played country music which is popular in the South. By the stage, there were people square dancing and on the opposite side was arguably the best part of the day…. the pig races.
Highlighted by Roham Josi, Porka Rinne and Gabriel Landeshog, there were multiple pig races being played during stoppages in play throughout the game. Entertainment like the country music and the square dancing payed homage to the traditions and culture of Dallas. “It was awesome. You don’t really know what to expect when you walk out for the start of the game, but the atmosphere, the fans, everything they had going on with the fireworks, the flyover, everything, was just awesome. It was nice to have a Texas feel,” said Dallas Stars forward Blake Comeau who was awarded the first star of the game after scoring the Stars first goal to spark their comeback. On the note of the pig races, not all the players got to enjoy it as much as the fans did. “I saw it on the big screen at one point, and I had to look away. I knew I’d get in trouble,” said Stars forward Jason Dickinson.
The ice itself is always a hot topic as it is known for not being as good as a typical NHL arena’s ice. After the teams each took to the ice on December 31st for practices and the family skate, to the surprise of some of the players, the ice was better than they expected. “It was pretty good. Obviously it’s probably going to be a little different tomorrow whenever puck drop is and with the hot weather, but it should be good,” said Nashville Predators star winger Filip Forsberg.
Luckily for Filip Forsberg and the Predators and Stars respectively, although the weather was hot out, the sun was not beaming down on the ice. When asked how he felt on the ice after Tuesday night practice, Dallas Stars defensemen Esa Lindell said, “Good, I felt good. Couldn’t complain. It was fast, the puck just didn’t glide much, but that’s not a big deal.”
The game itself was hockey at its best. It was filled with intensity and physicality, especially after Corey Perry was ejected from the game just three minutes into the game after an illegal elbow to the head of Ryan Ellis. Ellis did not return to the game which resulted which resulted in both teams having to make some lineup adjustments to make up for their respective lost player.
The Predators silenced the home crowd early on in the first period scoring 2 power play goals. The Stars did have some chances wary on but were not able to capitalize. Dennis Gurianov had was awarded a penalty shot which was just the second time one has been awarded at the Winter Classic. Despite the golden opportunity, Gurianov failed to score. In the second period the momentum had shifted a bit and the Stars were finally able to get one on the board just under 2 minutes left in the second period. Seguin also had a golden opportunity to tie the game on a breakaway but hit the post.
Everything changed in the third and final period at Cotton Bowl Stadium. The Stars entered the period down a goal, but just 58 seconds into the period, Mattias Janmark tied the game up on the power play after a great play behind the net from Stars forward Jason Dickinson. Once again on the power play, Alexander Radulov got the roaring crowd on their feet as he buried in the one-time shot to overcome his team’s deficit and take the lead. His goal would serve as the game winner, but Stars defensemen Andrej Sekera picked the perfect time to score his first of the season to sink the visiting team’s hopes to come back.
The Stars would end the day with a thrilling victory after being down 2-0 entering the second period. Despite the loss for the Predators, the fans loved the game and the players loved the experience. Following the game, Stars captain Roman Josi, who logged a game leading 33:02 of ice time, stated, “It was cool. I mean, it was awesome, just yesterday having our families here and the crowd here and then, having that many people from Nashville is really special, so thanks for all the fans that came out and then, yeah, it’s really special for us to get that kind of support and, yeah, it would have made it a lot better if we got a win.”
Dallas Stars interim head coach Rick Bowness perhaps said it best after the game when asked about the overall experience of the day. “Let’s look at it from two sets of eyes. From a coaching perspective, we won the game. We battled back. We survived those early penalties and the guys kept battling and believing and doing what was necessary to get us back in the game. From a fan’s perspective, that was great hockey. If I was out there watching that game and I was watching us on television, that was an awesome game. The whole thing was awesome.”
After the game, the Dallas Stars gathered to the ice to get a team picture while they were all in their Winter Classic gear. “Something I’ll never forget,” Tyler Seguin responded to the media when asked about taking the team photo in front 85,630 fans.
“That was the loudest I’ve been on the ice before,” said Stars forward Tyler Seguin following his team’s exciting win on New Year’s Day. “The Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators gave the 85,630 fans at Cotton Bowl Stadium a great game for both sets of fans, regardless of the final result.