Capitals Beat Blackhawks 3-2 in NHL Winter Classic

There were some questionable moments during the NHL’s 2015 Winter Classic on New Years Day, including some musical acts that left fans scratching their heads, an earlier than normal puck drop, a very evident issue with sun glare and the lowest television ratings in Winter Classic history. Despite some of the quirks from this year’s outdoor series, the fans were treated to an exciting game between two of the NHL’s best teams with the Capitals beating the Blackhawks 3-2.

Former Blackhawks forward Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal against his old team with just 12.9 seconds remaining in regulation. The game clinching goal was set up by what some would consider an iffy hooking penalty called on Chicago captain Jonathan Toews with 1:12 left in the third. With the final score being as close as it was and the late game heroics by Brouwer, one would assume the game had been pretty evenly matched, but that wasn’t the case.

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The Blackhawks fell behind 0-2 early in the first period and were able to rally despite several mistakes throughout the game. The Capitals should have scored more than three goals, but Chicago kept clawing back to make up for the poor start.

The Capitals first score came after Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook could not cleanly collect a pass at the blue line which allowed Washington’s Eric Fehr a breakaway opportunity on Corey Crawford. The goal would be Fehr’s third in two career Winter Classic Games. Minutes after Fehr’s goal, Crawford failed to freeze the puck, creating an easy rebound shot for Alex Ovechkin, who fired it into the back of the net for his 18th goal of the season.

It looked like what could be a blowout by the Capitals, but Patrick Sharp was able to beat Braden Holtby from the blue line after a penalty by Nicklas Backstrom gave Chicago the one-man advantage. It took just two minutes for the Blackhawks to make it 1-2 to close out the first period.

Brandon Saad scored early in the second period for Chicago on some nifty passing to tie the game 2-2. From there, both teams settled in making the next 46 minutes scoreless before Brouwer would net his game-winning-goal to seal the win for Washington.