The Winter Classic is right around the corner, with the Bruins and Penguins set to face off at Fenway Park on Monday, Jan. 2.
From a strictly hockey perspective, this is a great matchup between two Eastern Conference playoff teams hoping to make (potentially) one last Stanley Cup run with their aging cores -- Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand on the Boston side; Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang with Pittsburgh.
But the Winter Classic is, of course, an event that extends well beyond the game itself. With that in mind, here’s a guide to everything you can expect to see and hear before and during the game.
-For starters, don’t expect the game to actually start at the listed 2 p.m. time. In fact, TNT, which is carrying the game on TV, said as much before Wednesday night’s Bruins-Devils game, revealing that puck drop is actually scheduled for 2:30.
-TNT’s pregame coverage begins at 1 p.m. WEEI’s coverage begins even earlier with the WEEI Classic Broadcast right around the corner at Time Out Market from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Andy Gresh hosts with Andrew Raycroft, Mike Milbury and yours truly all stopping by.
-The ceremonial puck drop, which will actually take the form of a first pitch, will feature Bruins legends Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk and Zdeno Chara, along with Red Sox legends Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield.
-That will take place on the “Ice Diamond,” an auxiliary rink located between the main rink and the Green Monster. That area will also feature local youth hockey players playing shinny hockey and baseball-themed games throughout the day.
-The Boston Pops, led by conductor Keith Lockhart, will serve as the house band throughout the day, including during player introductions for both teams.
-Legendary Boston-based R&B group Bell Biv DeVoe will join the Pops to sing the national anthem. There will also be a flyover featuring several F-15 jets from the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
-The Black Keys, singers of modern rock classics like “Tighten Up,” “Lonely Boy” and “Gold on the Ceiling,” will perform during the first intermission, with a portion of the performance televised on TNT.
-The forecast as of Thursday afternoon, per Accuweather, calls for a high of 52 degrees, mostly clear skies, no precipitation and light wind. That might be a little warmer than is ideal for ice conditions, but no rain or wind is big. It should also be very comfortable, all things considered, for anyone attending the game.
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