The NHL Winter Classic is an event held by the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year’s Day in which a regular-season hockey game is played outdoors, in an area with a resident NHL team. The first Winter Classic was held in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. The event featured only American teams for its first five years. The 2014 game featured its first Canadian team, as the Toronto Maple Leafs played against the Detroit Red Wings. To date, the Winter Classic has been contested only in the United States; a Canadian counterpart is the NHL Heritage Classic, which is held in Canada.
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