The Washington Capitals stepped out of the home dugout at Nationals Park early Thursday afternoon and trudged toward the rink built on top of its infield for warm-ups. As they walked, sunlight spilled over the stadium walls behind them, covering most of the playing surface and creating a noticeable glare.
The glare was expected to affect the Winter Classic, an annual outdoor hockey game played on New Year’s Day, and most of the players were prepared for it. So in addition to maroon jerseys and puffy winter hats, most of them wore smears of black paint or tape under their eyes. Joel Ward’s eye black covered much of his cheeks. Others wore shaded visors.
Only two players — Karl Alzner and Nate Schmidt — wore sunglasses.
“It was funny to do it,” Alzner said, “but in the long run, it was the best for me in seeing the puck.”
Wearing shades was just one of many adjustments the Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks were forced to make for the Winter Classic, which Washington won, 3-2, on a goal by Troy Brouwer in the waning seconds of the third period. Playing hockey outdoors in a stadium built for baseball introduces a number of new variables for players, from the glare off the ice to the visual perception of the rink to the size and sound of the crowd.
“For having that many people there, the way you hear the noise is different,” Alzner said. “With us, it’s right on top of you. It’s loud, it’s kind of deafening. Here, it’s just like a deeper, different sound. So that was one thing that we thought was different.”
At the top of the list, however, was the glare. There was speculation entering the game that it would be delayed shortly before the puck was dropped, pushing back the start time until the rink was completely covered in shade. Commissioner Gary Bettman and his staff asked the players to warm-up and gauge the conditions before making a decision.
Blackhawks goalkeeper Corey Crawford reported that he was comfortable with the glare, and the captains for each team agreed. So the game started right on schedule, around 1:30 p.m., with plans for the teams to switch sides halfway through the first period to prevent either group from obtaining an advantage.
“For us, the primary issue, if there was to be an issue, was player safety,” Bettman said. “Once we were comfortable that that wasn’t going to be an issue, everyone decided — I decided — it was time to go and play on time.”
The glare still played a role, however. Alzner said he heard from teammates that the eye black and shaded visors were ineffective. “It was kind of a lose-lose unless you go sunglasses,” he said with a grin. Eric Fehr, who scored the first of two Capitals goals in the opening period, said the glare was particularly bad when facing the eastern side of the rink.
The rink was shaded after the first intermission, eliminating the issue for the remainder of the game.
“First period, it was a little bit difficult to see, especially going down the one end,” Fehr said. “But it was even for both teams. You just have to deal with it, and it worked out for us.”
Players also had to adapt to the conditions of the ice, which had only recently been brought in as a temporary home for this game. The Capitals described it as slow but consistent, a little rough in the first period but not dissimilar to the playing surface at Verizon Center in the second and third stanzas.
“The ice was a little bumpy, but all we wanted to do was try to go north, get the puck out of our zone,” Brooks Laich said. “And I think it’s a lot easier on ice like that to skate forward than it is to skate backwards, so you saw the defensemen getting pressured a lot and getting heat a lot and turnovers like that.”
The distance from the rink to the stands created a different atmosphere, players said, only adding to the unique grandeur of the event. A model of the U.S. Capitol Building was constructed in center field, with a reflecting pool leading to the rink. The two teams emerged from behind the Capitol when they were introduced before the game. Between periods, they walked in the opposite direction past a stage atop the pitchers’ mound, where Billy Idol, Gavin DeGraw, and Lee Greenwood performed over the course of the afternoon.
Between the concerts, crowd (an announced 42,832), outdoor variables and, ultimately, the result, the Capitals said it didn’t quite feel like they had won the Stanley Cup or anything. But it didn’t feel normal, either.
“To be honest, the game didn’t feel like a regular-season game,” Laich said. “It felt a lot more special, a lot more important than your standard, regular-season game.”
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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