When the NHL announced that they’d be providing an update on the Winter Classic, most people assumed that they’d be pushing the start time back like they did for yesterday’s Centennial Classic.
But on Monday morning, the league announced that there would be no change to the 1:00 p.m. ET start time for the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.
Just a remainder that you can watch the game online by clicking here.
“The decision was made after consulting with meteorologists regarding the latest weather reports, which while the weather forecast is unpredictable, the original start time should provide the best opportunity to play the game,” the league said in a release.
According to the Weather Network, there’s a 90 percent chance of light rain in the forecast, while temperatures are expected to remain steady at around 48 degrees, but it’ll feel like closer to 50 throughout the game. That’s unusually high for this time of year, which can cause a problem for the ice conditions.
Should there be a problem with the ice, here are the NHL’s weather-related game procedures:
Once the game has begun, it may be subject to one or more temporary stoppages due to unplayable weather conditions, at the discretion of the Commissioner.
Period and game format may be reconfigured to accommodate temporary stoppages as determined appropriate by the Commission.
In the event of high winds at the ice surface, the clubs will swtich ends at the 10:00 minute mark of the third period as signaled by a “hard whistle”. The face off will take place where the play was whistled dead. This identical procedure will take place at the 2:30 minute mark of an overtime period, if needed.
In the event of a shootout, each club will determine what end they prefer to defend, which could be the same end.
If the game is started, then stopped permanently due to unplayable weather conditions, it will be deemed “official” once two periods have been played. The team leading at the time play is stopped will be declared the winner and will be awarded two points in the standings.
If the game is tied at the time play is stopped permanently, any time after the two periods of play, each team will be awarded one point in the standings, with an opportunity to earn an additional point in a standard shootout format.
If weather conditions permit, the shootout will be conducted at Busch Stadium immediately after regulation play has been stopped. If weather conditions make it impossible to conduct a shootout safely at Busch Stadium, the shootout will take place at United Center on Sunday, February 26 prior to regularly scheduled St. Louis-Chicago game, with St. Louis deemed the home club for shootout purposes only.
If the game is started, and stopped due to unplayable weather conditions, and fewer than two periods of regulation time has been played, the game will be officially “postponed” and, if possible, will be played in its entirety at Busch Stadium on Tuesday, January 3. If the game cannot be replayed at Busch Stadium on January 3, it will be rescheduled at Scottrade Center for a date to be determined later in the season.
nhl.nbcsports.com
