The NHL Winter Classic is an annual event, held by the NHL, where the regular-season game is played outdoors.
The first Winter Classic game was played on January 1, 2008, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. This game had an NHL-record crowd of 71,217 fans in attendance. The success of the 2008 NHL Winter Classic game led to the annually scheduled game continuing on today.