Well, the results are in, and they are surprisingly not that great.
Saturday's soggy Winter Classic at Heinz Field between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals -- the National Hockey League's first foray into prime time for this event, whether forced or otherwise -- drew a 1.8 overnight rating after television viewership results were announced yesterday.
That is meaningfully less than the 2.6 rating from last year's Winter Classic between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, and even less than the 2.9 rating from the Classic in 2009 between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
I'm anxious to gauge league-wide reaction to these numbers. I'm sure they'll be spun as a positive, but I'm not sure that's the case.
I think the biggest indicator of whether the NHL viewed the wet prime-time spectacle as a success is whether they (and/or NBC) decide to voluntarily schedule the game for prime-time in future years.
While so many of the players, including Pittsburgh forward Max Talbot, spoke after Saturday's game about how the event was good for hockey because you want to sell the game, at least one observer felt that the game failed to live up to its billing.
One player who probably cared a little less about how the game was viewed and instead was just thrilled to be in game action again was Penguins' center Jordan Staal, who played for the first time after missing the season's opening 39 games while recovering from foot and hand surgeries.
Staal really amped up his practice work with the team in the week leading up to the Winter Classic and it was good to see him finally medically cleared and back in the lineup.
Head Coach Dan Bylsma professed that he would have put Staal in the lineup if it were just a game in Buffalo, and indicated in advance that Staal wouldn't see the same minutes as he normally would while he gets his game conditioning up to where it needs to be. Sure enough, Gronk only played about 14 minutes.
But they were strong minutes. He had 3 hits, 3 shots, a few blocks and finished 11-for-18 on face-offs,w hich is something he didn't really practice much leading up to the game.
Staal played center on the Pens' second line with Evgeni Malkin most of the game, by the way, and I'll be curious to see if Disco Dan sticks with that combination. After all, that was the plan going into training camp.
It's going to take #11 more time to get up to speed, but it was great to see him out there again. He adds a lot to the team all over the ice.
Staal will have at least a few more days of work before he gets to suit up again on Wednesday night, when the Pens next play. That evening, they host Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning at The Bird House.
That game will be a good test for them, but they'll have the added benefit of catching Tampa Bay one day after they play the Caps' in a showdown for the Southeast Division lead in Washington. The Lightning may come into Pittsburgh a little on the comedown, but the Penguins would be wise not to take anything for granted now that they've dropped 3 of their last 4. They need a strong effort that night, especially since turnaround will be fair play when they travel to Montreal to face the Canadiens the next day themselves.
When Pittsburgh does lace 'em up again on Wednesday, they'll be looking even at the Philadelphia Flyers in the Atlantic Division after the Flyers' win in Detroit yesterday.
They may also no longer be the holders of the top spot in the NHL, since Detroit and the Vancouver Canucks also have matched their 53 points on the season, and both of those clubs play once before then.
Going forward, I'll have a preview up of Wednesday's game coming up, and then looking further down the line, I'll dish out player grades at the halfway mark of the season. Look for that probably sometime this weekend.
More soon.
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