The 2017 NHL Stadium Series was a regular season National Hockey League (NHL) game played outdoors, part of the Stadium Series of games held at football or baseball stadiums. The Philadelphia Flyers played against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 25, 2017.
This was the only game in the Stadium Series scheduled during the 2016–17 NHL season, although there were three other outdoor games previously played in that season. It was one of the most attended outdoor NHL games in history, with an attendance of 67,318.
Background The game was played to help mark the 50th anniversary of the Expansion of 1967, in which the Flyers and the Penguins, along with four other teams, were formed to double the league's size. This Flyers–Penguins rivalry matchup was originally considered for the 2017 NHL Winter Classic in January, but scheduling conflicts with the National Football League in both cities, along with the belief that Beaver Stadium (a neutral site venue mentioned as a potential site for a Flyers–Penguins outdoor contest) was not properly equipped to host an event during the winter, led to plans for a matchup being moved to a later date as a Stadium Series game in February.
Heinz Field previously hosted the 2011 NHL Winter Classic. This was also the Penguins' fourth outdoor game (after the 2008 and 2011 Winter Classics, and the 2014 Stadium Series), and the Flyers' third (after the 2010 and 2012 Winter Classics).
Game summary
Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel recorded two assists and Matt Murray made 36 saves en route to a 4-2 victory over Philadelphia. The Penguins got goals from Sidney Crosby, Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen and Chad Ruhwedel. Jakub Voracek and Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the Flyers.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PIT Sidney Crosby (34) Jake Guentzel (7) and Scott Wilson (13) 11:18 1–0 PIT 2nd PIT Nick Bonino (9) - pp Jake Guentzel (8) and Brian Dumoulin (10) 6:44 2–0 PIT PHI Jakub Voracek (16) Andrew MacDonald (12) 11:14 2–1 PIT 3rd PIT Matt Cullen (10) Eric Fehr (5) and Tom Kuhnhackl (5) 1:50 3–1 PIT PHI Shayne Gostisbehere (5) - pp Claude Giroux (31) and Brayden Schenn (21) 6:48 3–2 PIT PIT Chad Ruhwedel (2) Evgeni Malkin (36) 14:06 4–2 PIT Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PIT Evgeni Malkin Unsportsmanlike conduct 6:39 2:00 PHI Ivan Provorov Hooking 16:25 2:00 2nd PHI Shayne Gostisbehere Interference 5:08 2:00 PIT Eric Fehr Roughing 7:20 2:00 PIT Chris Kunitz Roughing 10:50 2:00 PHI Dale Weise Roughing 10:50 2:00 PHI Brandon Manning Holding 19:09 2:00 3rd PIT Jake Guentzel Holding 6:34 2:00 PIT Cameron Gaunce Tripping 11:19 2:00 PHI Shayne Gostisbehere Interference 15:41 2:00 PHI Wayne Simmonds Slashing 18:00 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Philadelphia 16 12 10 38 Pittsburgh 7 11 11 29
Power play opportunities Team Goals/Opportunities Philadelphia 1/4 Pittsburgh 1/5
Three star selectionsTeamPlayerStatistics1stPITJake Guentzel2 assists2ndPITSidney Crosby1 goal3rdPHIJakub Voracek1 goal
Team rosters
Philadelphia Flyers # Player Position 3 Radko Gudas D 9 Ivan Provorov D 10 Brayden Schenn D 12 Michael Raffl LW 14 Sean Couturier C 17 Wayne Simmonds (A) RW 22 Dale Weise RW 24 Matt Read RW 25 Nick Cousins LW 28 Claude Giroux (C) C 30 Michal Neuvirth G 23 Brandon Manning D 32 Mark Streit D 35 Steve Mason G 40 Jordan Weal RW 47 Andrew MacDonald D 53 Shayne Gostisbehere D 76 Chris VandeVelde LW 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (A) C 93 Jakub Voracek RWHead coach: Dave Hakstol
Pittsburgh Penguins # Player Position 2 Chad Ruhwedel D 4 Justin Schultz D 7 Matt Cullen C 8 Brian Dumoulin D 13 Nick Bonino C 14 Chris Kunitz (A) LW 16 Eric Fehr C 23 Scott Wilson LW 24 Cameron Gaunce D 28 Ian Cole D 29 Marc-Andre Fleury G 34 Tom Kuhnhackl RW 30 Matt Murray G 59 Jake Guentzel C/LW 62 Carl Hagelin LW 65 Ron Hainsey RW 71 Evgeni Malkin (A) C 72 Patric Hornqvist RW 81 Phil Kessel RW 87 Sidney Crosby (C) C Head coach: Mike Sullivan
Marc-Andre Fleury and Steve Mason dressed as the back-up goaltenders. Neither entered the game.
Scratches Philadelphia Flyers: Michael Del Zotto, Roman Lyubimov, Nick Schultz Pittsburgh Penguins: Kris Letang, Steve Oleksy, Carter Rowney
Officials Referees — Eric Furlatt, Ian Walsh Linesmen — Brad Kovachik, Derek Amell
References