On a snowy Chicago night at Soldier Field, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburg Penguins showed down in a regular season Stadium Series matchup. The 5-1 Blackhawks’ victory reiterated Western Conference rule in the NHL as well as showcased the head-to-head battle between two of the best players in the league: Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. With the unrelenting snowfall and the mob of 61,000 die-hard fans, the game on March 1 was truly a spectacle.
The Coors Light Stadium Series that started in the 2013-2014 NHL season, was created in order to capture the way that hockey was originally played—outdoors. Chicago, being the third and final game of the series (Los Angeles and New York being the first and second), knew that their game had to cap off the series beautifully.
The ice crew, who set up the rink at the football stadium, arrived as early as February 18, bringing with them truckloads of equipment to even get the portable ice rink functioning. This massive gear included: 300 tons of refrigeration, two compressors weighing 165 and 135 tons respectively, and 30-foot-long aluminum pans for the ice itself with pipes to keep it cooled. The ice crew of only twelve men spent every day working to get the rink prepared until a few days before game day.
The Penguins and Blackhawks, who already had the chance to practice on the rinks once before the anticipated showdown, knew that the event was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in front of such an enormous crowd with such big stakes at hand. The evening game went off smoothly and the teams began the game amidst insistent snow that continued for the whole game.
Patrick Sharp of the Hawks opened the scoring with a feed from Jonathan Toews. This dominance continued and eventually turned into a 3-0 Chicago lead going in the second intermission.
Finally, at 6:21 in the third period, James Neal of the Penguins lit up the net, robbing Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford of a potential shut-out. This excitement was short-lived, however, and the Blackhawks proceeded to score two more goals from Bryan Bickell and later by Jonathan Toews.
The final score of 5-1 undoubtedly caught the attention of the Eastern Conference Pittsburg Penguins, as well as that of Sidney Crosby, the league’s best player. Toews, Crosby’s Team Canada teammate, outplayed him and his team and opened up questions about a very possible Stanley Cup Finals team pairing.
The victory on the glistening, wintry night in Chicago was one that will not soon be forgotten. The exquisite matchup of two of the league’s best teams and players was one that sparked a new and exciting rivalry. Though things are not ever certain on the road to the Stanley Cup, one thing is for sure: if these teams were to meet again, things could get unquestionably interesting.