If Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios had his way, the NHL would play an outdoor game at Wrigley Field every season.

"Why not do Wrigley every year because there's so much history here and the place sells out and people from all over the country come to see this park," Chelios said after the Wings beat Chicago 6-4 in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. "You could probably pick some other parks such as Fenway (in Boston) and the old Yankee Stadium, but Wrigley is right there, no doubt."

Even though the 46-year-old Chelios played just one period of Thursday's game, finishing with five shifts totaling 1:57 of ice time, he was thrilled to have the opportunity of a lifetime in his hometown.

CHICAGO -- Was the media hype and pre-game ceremonies from the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009 too much for the Chicago Blackhawks to overcome?
   
Possibly. It sure didn't seem that way, though, when Ben Eager's goal in the final minute of the opening period gave the young squad a two-goal lead at the first intermission. But when the final horn at Wrigley Field sounded, the Hawks looked like a completely different team in dropping their second straight to the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-4 loss in front of 40,818 fans Thursday afternoon.
   
Certainly, there was plenty to get the Blackhawks pumped up as the Winter Classic approached. From the stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner to the pyrotechnics to the chilling fly-by of two fighter jets, it's hard to imagine that the blood wasn't flowing at an intense rate.

When the Detroit Red Wings needed a big boost Thursday, the little guy came through.

Third-year center Jiri Hudler, all 5-foot-9, 178 pounds of him, became just the third player to score two goals in an NHL game held outdoors as he sparked the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings to a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009 at Wrigley Field.

"I got two lucky bounces, what can I say?" Hudler said. "The guys on the ice set me up pretty good and I basically had an empty net to put the puck in both times.''

Hudler, who earned the 100th point of his career on his first goal, 1:14 into the second period, pulled the Wings into a 3-3 tie with his 15th goal of the season at 12:43 of that same period. From there, Detroit pulled away, taking a 6-3 lead before Chicago scored a cosmetic goal in the final seconds.

CHICAGO -- With a smile on his face and a souvenir in his hand, NHL Facilities Operations Manager Dan Craig spoke like the happiest guy in Chicago roughly an hour after the game.

He was definitely the most relieved employee of the National Hockey League.
   
Craig and his crew pulled it off Thursday, and nothing was more satisfying for him than to hear that the million-dollar athletes that played in Thursday's Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009 felt the ice he made at Wrigley Field played just like a normal game.

"That is my job. That is the bottom line and you can't ask for anything more than that," Craig told NHL.com. "When we set out to do a project like this the last thing you want the guys thinking about is an ice surface or the elements.

CHICAGO -- More than a few hockey pundits were looking at the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009 between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on New Year's Day as sort of a glorified exhibition game.

Wrong.

There were plenty of lessons to be learned -- lessons that the surging Blackhawks can learn from the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings.

"What makes Detroit so good is how they can take a player, give him a role and then watch as he grows," explained Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, who had a close-up look at Detroit long before he took over behind the bench in Chicago earlier this season, spending parts of eight seasons going head-to-head with the Red Wings when he coached in St. Louis, a division rival.

CHICAGO -- The historic hand-operated scoreboard beyond the center field wall showed a two-goal victory for the Detroit Red Wings, but Thursday's mega-event at Wrigley Field was a blowout for the city of Chicago, the near 41,000 fans inside the Frozen Confines and the entire National Hockey League.

It's just too bad they didn't play two. It was that kind of perfect.

The Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2009 will be remembered as nothing but a rousing success, and the Stanley Cup champs showed why they still are the best, taking a 6-4 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on one of the most historic afternoons in professional sports history.

"You want to win this game because 10 years from now when they ask you who won the Winter Classic, you get to say, 'We did,' " Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "And, plus, it's exciting. I don't care if you're (Chris) Chelios and you're 46 or if you're (Kris) Draper and you're 37. … I mean, it's a thrill to be out there on the ice."

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks were riding a nine-game winning streak and were flying high heading into a home-and-home series with the Detroit Red Wings.

Consider them grounded.

After dropping a 4-0 decision at Joe Louis Arena Tuesday night, the Blackhawks suffered another setback Thursday in a 6-4 loss to the Wings in the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field.

The loss dropped the Blackhawks to 0-3-1 in their four meetings against Detroit this season -- a statistic that could suggest the Red Wings are in their heads.

CHICAGO -- The best part of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic’s pregame festivities? Lots to pick from, including a jaw-rocking, torso-rousing national anthem complete with perfectly time pyrotechnics and a military jet flyover that surely thrilled all boys 12 and under in attendance (and no doubt thousands more). In fact, the pyro work was so good it actually muted the anthem yells — momentarily.

But the best moment had to be the partisan and primal screams for the two teams. The Red Wings jumped on the ice at 11:45 a.m., flying and cutting over the frozen surface that NHL ice guru Dan Craig has so devotedly built and cured since Dec. 15. There were lots of boos for the Wings, in fact, enough to think maybe it was the sound of a warmup maneuver for the scheduled flyover by a couple of F-18 Hornets.

Then Cristobal Huet and the Blackhawks climbed up from the Cubs' third-base dugout to a roar scratched just a smidge by Detroit heckling. A pure hockey moment and, in the end, exactly why 40,818 fans cheerfully filled up the stands at historic Wrigley Field. Well, maybe not all cheerfully. When the pregame moment came to coordinate a crowd card stunt, the Red Wings fans tossed their cards in the air — shades of Cubs bleachers faithful throwing back opponent home run balls.

Hockey fans buy and wear more team jerseys than other sports fan — OK, that’s unofficial — and there was no letup Thursday. Hawks jerseys appeared to outnumber Wings jersey by 5 to 3 —well, that’s even more unofficial — but the Detroit presence was predictably vocal and well-adorned with last year’s Stanley Cup title accomplishment. That’s a tally Hawks fans don’t care to acknowledge. Three Stanley Cups for Chicago, 11 now for Detroit.

CHICAGO -- Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson was right at home Thursday afternoon.

Sort of.

The Chicago native couldn't believe his eyes when he arrived at Wrigley Field for the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and saw how one of baseball's most historic ballparks had been transformed into a winter wonderland.

"I didn't know how it was going to look when I got here, but it's amazing," said Granderson, who watched the Detroit Red Wings' 6-4 win from a luxury suite. "It's great to have the Blackhawks and the Red Wings at Wrigley Field. I'm enjoying my time here."

CHICAGO -- John McDonough feels like one proud papa today.

The Chicago Blackhawks' President, who through his own innovation and due diligence brought the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic to Wrigley Field, called the transformed baseball stadium for this New Year's Day event "the real field of dreams."

"I have pretty lofty expectations as people will tell you. This has surpassed them," McDonough told NHL.com in an exclusive interview during the first intermission. "This is a winter wonderland at Wrigley Field the likes of which no one ever thought they'd see. For this place to have transformed into the ultimate hockey event is really beyond belief."

McDonough's goal for having the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field was to put the city of Chicago and its hockey team back on the map. He believes it's mission accomplished.