The Winter Classic Not Very "Classic"

The headline at TSN following the New York Rangers victory over Philly in the "Winter Classic" outdoors game was "One To Remember!". A number of pundits following the game were writing/talking that it was especially great and memorable. While I had to work during the game, it was on the TV at my workplace (I work at a rink as an ice maker) so I did get to see about 60% of it. Most of the game was boring hockey, unless you enjoy playing follow the bouncing puck as both teams struggled to handle it on bad ice. There were a couple of quick goals, and a penalty shot near the end. Other than that, it was a brutal game to watch and bad hockey. I'm not blaming the ice crew for the conditions, as it is extraordinarily difficult to make pro calibre ice outdoors with mild weather. Being unable to control the ambient temperature and humidity severely complicates the art of ice making.

If you only listened to the feed from the NBC crew, you might be fooled into thinking that this was the greatest hockey game ever played; when in reality 5% was great, 5% was good, and 90% sucked.