The NHL has revealed that it will be the Penguins who will face the Bruins in the 2023 Winter Classic at Boston’s Fenway Park. The league announced the game back in February, but had not announced Boston’s opponent at the time.
The league also gave the game a date: Monday, Jan. 2, 2023.
The Bruins are 3-1-0 in their four previous regular-season outdoor appearances, the last one being a 7-3 win against the Flyers in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe. The Penguins have made five outdoor appearances, including a 2-1 shootout win against the Buffalo Sabres in the first-ever NHL Winter Classic at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2008. They are 2-2-1 when playing under open skies, losing 4-3 in overtime against the Flyers in the 2019 NHL Stadium Series at Lincoln Financial Field.
Next year’s Winter Classic will mark the second time the Bruins have hosted at Fenway, home of the Boston Red Sox. This year’s Winter Classic was the coldest in record, held Jan. 1 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn. The St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild, 6-4.
The Montréal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers played in the first modern day outdoor game on Nov. 22, 2003 at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, dubbed the Heritage Classic. A crowd of 57,167 chilled spectators took in that game, spawning a total of 35 NHL regular-season games played outdoors, under the banners of Winter Classic, Stadium Series, Centennial Classic, NHL100 Classic, NHL Outdoors, and Heritage Classic.
Other events previously announced by the league include the 2023 NHL All-Star Game to be hosted by the Florida Panthers and a Stadium Series game hosted by the Carolina Hurricanes against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 23, 2023.
The Stadium Series outdoor game will be held Carter-Finley Stadium, home of the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.
In addition to those events, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the league is planning to resume its Global Series with games in Germany, Switzerland and Finland next season.
Next year’s all-star game will take place Feb. 4 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla., with the skills competition on Feb. 3. The Panthers previously hosted the NHL All-Star Game in 2003.
