Pittsburgh weather forces NHL to move Winter Classic to night - USA Today

PITTSBURGH — When it comes to NHL games, you win some, lose some and now some get postponed by rain.With weather forecasts calling for rain all day on New Year's Day, the NHL has moved the fourth annual Winter Classic outdoor game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET at Heinz Field. It will still be televised by NBC

"I don't care if they play at midnight," Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Let's get going."

The AccuWeather.com forecast calls for a cloudy New Year's evening, with a gametime temperature of 41 degrees. There is no rain in the evening forecast.

That's a sharp contrast from the daytime forecast, which calls for rain from 4 a.m. until 6 p.m. There's a 24% chance of a thunderstorm.

A light rain will freeze quickly on the 22-degree ice, but a steady rain is dangerous because it creates pools of water and because it limits player visibility.

"It's the same risk for both teams," Boudreau said. "So if it was a gravel (surface) it wouldn't matter."

The decision on when to play is an important one for the NHL because the Winter Classic has become its best marketing day. The first three Winter Classics have drawn an average of 4 million television viewers. The game between Detroit and Chicago on Jan. 1, 2009, drew 4.4 million viewers, which made it the most watched NHL regular-season game in 35 years.

This will be the first primetime airing for the Winter Classic

"It would be a shame not to have a game this weekend," said Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux.

The NHL wanted the Washington vs. Pittsburgh matchup because the teams have a rivalry and Pittsburgh's captain Sidney Crosby and Washington's Alex Ovechkin are considered the NHL's top two players. The HBO reality series "24/7" has added more hype to the game.

"When you walked in here today. You saw thousands of people in the stands," Boudreau said. "You look at the enormity of the building and you go, 'Wow, this is going to be a real cool event.' "

Added Boudreau: "We're thinking in the room, when they have the Super Bowl and they've got a week of this before the buildup, I can't imagine."

Should the NHL not be able to hold an official game (at least two full periods) Saturday, the Winter Classic will be held Sunday (noon, NBC). The stadium is available because the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing in Cleveland.

But the Sunday scenario is far less appealing because the NHL would have to compete against NFL games instead of bowl games for viewers.

"Whatever the scenario is, we have all been pretty open minded to whatever happens," Crosby said. "We should be all enjoying ourselves not matter what scenario."

The teams will switch ends in the middle of the third period to assure fairness in dealing with the weather conditions.

Said Crosby: "I think everyone is ready for whatever comes."

An alumni game, plus Capitals and Penguins practices, were all held on the ice Friday with temperatures around 50 degrees.

"The ice was great," said Lemieux, who played in the alumni game. "A couple times in the neutral zone there was a little puddle, but they came out and fixed it."

The ice actually received mixed reviews. "Not too bad, what you would expect on a sheet on a football field," said Pittsburgh defenseman Alex Goligoski.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said the ice was soft, but the puck moved surprisingly well on it.

"The guys commented that, given the conditions, it was better than we thought it would be," Bylsma said. "… they were passing it fine."

Bylsma did note that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said his slide across the crease was different because of the weather conditions.

But Bylsma said he felt like the conditions were good enough to play.

"It was an exciting day," he said. "I put it up there with a lot of my best experiences in hockey."

The Caps practiced last and found the conditions less than ideal. "The ice was not that good, but we have 24 hours," said Washington's Alex Ovechkin.

In the only competition news of the day, Bylsma said Jordan Staal's status will be a gametime decision. Staal has been practicing, but hasn't played this season because of injuries.

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