The 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic tilt between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins is set for Friday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
The NHL issued a press release running down the game by the numbers, touching on everything from the Canadiens and Bruins’ storied history to how many pounds of Italian sausage fans are expected to consume on game day.
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Here are some highlights.
2 – On Dec. 31, there will be two games played on Gillette Stadium’s outdoor rink as part of the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic festivities: the first-ever Outdoor Women’s Classic presented by Scotiabank between the Boston Pride of the National Women’s Hockey League and Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League at 2 p.m. ET; and the NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game presented by Molson Canadian between the Montreal Canadiens Alumni and Boston Bruins Alumni at 3:30 p.m. ET.
4 – Players on the Bruins’ active roster who participated in the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask (DNP). In addition, Max Talbot participated in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Matt Beleskey played in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium SeriesTM as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.
7 – Seven players on the Canadiens’ active roster have played in a regular-season outdoor NHL game, including six who skated in the 2011 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage ClassicTM at McMahon Stadium: David Desharnais, Lars Eller, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price and P.K. Subban. In addition, defenseman Andrei Markov also played for the Canadiens in the 2003 Molson Canadian Heritage Classic, the first regular-season outdoor game in NHL history.
110 – A total of 110 skaters and goaltenders have played for the Bruins and Canadiens (none active in the NHL). Only one – forward Michael Ryder – played at least 200 games with both franchises.
177 – Total number of Stanley Cup® Playoff games played between the Bruins and Canadiens, the most in NHL history.
186 – Gallons of clam chowder that will be served to fans at Gillette Stadium on New Year’s Day.
732 – Including three matchups from this season, the number of all-time regular season meetings between the Bruins and the Canadiens, the most in NHL history. The Bruins (272-348-112) have earned 656 points and the Canadiens (357-265-110) have earned 824 points in these meetings.
2,000 – Weight, in pounds, of Italian sausage that fans at Gillette Stadium will eat at the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.
11,306 – Square footage of the two high-definition video boards at Gillette Stadium. It would take 1,700 37” TVs to fill the video board in the south end zone, which at 45’ x 100’ is the largest HDTV video screen in an outdoor NFL stadium.
413,548 – Total spectators in attendance at the first seven NHL Winter Classic games.
