It’s going to be Winter Classic times two in 2011.
According to a report by TSN, the NHL is expected to announce two Winter Classic games in 2011 starting with the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on New Year’s Day and the Calgary Flames versus the Montreal Canadiens in a place to be determined and a time to be determined in February. The official announcement is expected to come on Friday.
The New Year’s Day game will feature and be headlined by the league-forced rivalry between Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin. The specialized game will be the second for Pittsburgh, which defeated the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout on Jan. 1, 2008. It will be the first for the Capitals, who were replaced by the Flyers in the 2009 Winter Classic due to pressure from NBC, which wanted a bigger TV market.
In the West, Montreal’s Mike Cammalleri will make his return to Calgary to go head-to-head with popular Flames’ captain Jerome Iginla. The Flames and Cammalleri parted after the 2009 season on not-so-good terms after Calgary let the diminutive forward walk into free agency.
The Canadiens were featured in the first-ever outdoor game against the Edmonton Oilers in 2003.
Phila.Bright 