The NHL Winter Classic is back after a long layoff after 700 days when the game was cancelled last year due to the lockout and now these Original Six teams in the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings will be going at it on New Year's Day and the game comes from Michigan Stadium in ann Arbor at the Big House and the game is the first of a number of outdoor games for the season.
The Red Wings come into the matchup tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the standings in the division and that means this game will help split the logjam and they will get the chance to pull ahead and they come in with 18 wins on the season to 20 for the Maple Leafs and they each have 45 points and the Red Wings have a tough game ahead on the road against the Dallas Stars and the team is coming in after losing against the Nashville Predators. The Red Wings come in averaging 2.6 goals per game and they are allowing just under three goals per game with Jimmy Howard in net and the team is ranked in the top 10 in penalty kill percentage and 11th in power play percentage and with the Maple Leafs terrible against the penalty kill that will be an interesting matchup to watch.
Phil Kessel comes into the matchup for the Detroit Red Wings leading the Leafs in scoring and points with 20 goals and 37 total and the Leafs are looking to get into the playoffs for the second straight year after missing it a number of times the past few years and now the hope for the fans comes against the Red Wings. The team is ranked fifth in power play percentage and 27th in penalty kill percentage and the team is ranked in the top 20 in both goals allowed and goals scored per game and they are coming into the matchup after a win against Carolina and then they have a rivalry game with another Original Six team in the NY Rangers and that game will be at home and comes as the Rangers are slumping a bit.
Check here for the Maple Leafs and Red Wings live coverage.
The Red Wings and the Maple Leafs are playing in the winter classic in Michigan from Ann Arbor and here is a look at the game from Reuters.com. Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings will face off twice in 12 days breathing new life into a dormant rivalry that was once one of the NHL's most fierce.
Two of the NHL's 'Original Six' franchises, the Maple Leafs and Red Wings clashed for the 645th time on Saturday with Detroit skating away with a 5-4 shootout win to level the all-time record for the series at 276-276-93.
Even though the Motor City and Canada's financial hub are located just 371 km (230 miles) apart, Toronto and Detroit had not faced off against each other since January 7, 2012 making Saturday's contest a bit of a novelty.
With Detroit stuck in the Western conference and Toronto in the East, meetings had been few and far between but that is about to change.
Realignment has put Leafs and Wings back in the same division guaranteeing four regular season contests, including the league's outdoor showcase, the Winter Classic, on New Year's day.
"There's a lot of history between the two teams and you can kind of rekindle that rivalry this year, especially with us being divisional matchups and obviously coming to the Eastern conference," said Leafs center Nazem Kadri, who grew up midway between the two cities in London, Ontario.
There was plenty of nostalgia hanging over the matchup at Air Canada Centre and more on the way as the NHL pays its annual homage to the game's outdoor roots on January 1 at Michigan Stadium.
The Leafs entered Saturday's game trailing the Red Wings by just two points in the Atlantic division standings with the hype building for a New Year's day showdown that is expected to attract over 100,000 to the Big House.
While fans were keen to see an immediate renewal of hostilities, coaches and players warned it would take time to work up a good hate.
Having not played each other for almost two years, Red Wings' Mike Babcock shrugged off talk that there even was a rivalry while his Maple Leafs counterpart Randy Carlyle was focused on other matters.
"I'm more concerned about winning hockey games than building the rivalry," agreed Carlyle. "The rivalry is something that develops when you have competitive teams and you play a number times against each other.
"Obviously there is a long history between Toronto and Detroit but with this coaching staff were trying to make sure we can provide a consistent brand of hockey which we haven't been able to do."
The Maple Leafs and Red Wings do not currently have the familiarity that can breed the necessary contempt that provides the foundation for any great rivalry but Saturday's meeting marked a solid start towards rekindling one.
While the game was tame, the shootout loss has added a dash of spice to the New Year's day re-match as the Maple Leafs search for a measure of revenge. (Reuters)
