Julie Chu calls it "an awe moment," when you're fascinated by your surroundings while taking in the magnitude of where you are in your career or in life.

One of Chu's awe moments was practicing for the first time as a member of the United States Olympic team in 2002. The arena was empty, but the fact she would represent her country at a special event hit home.

"We all have it," Chu said. "When you step on the ice, there's always that awe moment, whether you want to admit it or not. It's just how quickly some of us who've had a chance to experience it a few more times, and maybe worked on the mental confirmation of that moment, we're able to shift out of that a little bit quicker and back to the focus of it."

Chu is a decorated veteran of the international circuit, but she is never immune to awe moments. She'll have another on New Year's Eve when the NHL hosts the inaugural Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank. The exhibition game between the Boston Pride of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and Les Canadiennes de Montreal of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) will be played at Gillette Stadium (2 p.m. ET) and help serve as a prelude to the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins on New Year's Day (1 p.m. ET; NBC, TVA Sports, SN).

Oakland Athletics pitcher Liam Hendriks traveled 15 hours from his native Australia to Los Angeles on Monday, and that was only the beginning of an escapade borne out of love for the game of hockey and his favorite NHL team, the Montreal Canadiens.

Already exhausted from the flight, Hendriks and his wife Kristi learned upon arrival their reservations for a rental car did not go through. When they arrived to the hotel at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time, it was too early to check in. If that wasn't enough, they're flying to Delaware to attend a wedding on New Year's Eve before driving two hours to Washington for a flight to Boston en route to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., to attend the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and watch Liam's beloved Canadiens play the Boston Bruins on New Year's Day (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports).

Once the game was announced, Hendriks was getting there by any means necessary, even if the first leg of his journey meant traveling halfway around the world.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- After the Montreal Canadiens lost for the seventh time in eight games, captain Max Pacioretty pointed to the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic as a chance for them to show they're better than that.

Pacioretty and the Canadiens will be heading to Gillette Stadium for the game against the Boston Bruins on New Year's Day following a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center on Tuesday.

"You know everyone is watching," Pacioretty said. "It's time to make a statement to the League. We're going to play against a very good team, and it's a great rivalry. Everyone around the League will be watching. It's time to make a statement and prove we're a better team than our past 12 or so games have shown."

Pacioretty and the Canadiens are looking forward to the game and the festivities, but at the same time, they're hoping they can get their season back on track after falling out of first place in the Atlantic Division.

BOSTON -- As much as there is a sense of excitement about what's ahead for the Boston Bruins, there was at least that much relief following their 7-3 win against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden on Tuesday.

Relief because they stopped a three-game losing streak. Relief because forwards who had been struggling to score like Jimmy Hayes and Matt Beleskey combined for five goals, including a hat trick for Hayes. Relief because their top-ranked power play proved it can produce (a season-high four goals) without injured center David Krejci.

And, not to be buried under the avalanche of good that happened to the Bruins on Tuesday, relief that they don't have to worry anymore that looking ahead to the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic means they risk looking past the next game.

The Winter Classic against the Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium on Friday (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports) is the next game for the Bruins. They can finally talk about it. Shockingly, they haven't all season long.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The weather didn't do the ice-making crew at Gillette Stadium any favors Tuesday morning.

The area was blanketed by about an inch of snow, followed by rain that lasted well into the early afternoon.

Those are not ideal conditions, especially at this critical point in the rink-building process, for Dan Craig, the NHL's senior director of facility operations and hockey operations. Craig is the point person for making the ice ready for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic here on Jan. 1 between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports).

"Like I was telling one of the guys today, I thought we were going to get a bit of snow and scrape it off," Craig said Tuesday during a break. "All our lines and logos were done last night and I though we just need to go another half-inch of ice and we're ready to skate [Tuesday night] and do the other stuff [Wednesday], and here we are putting in a 16-hour day just to catch up."

FOXBORO -- The NHL remains on schedule in building out the rink for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 1. The weather, however, could make things a bit interesting across the next 36 hours.

The Boston Bruins host the Montreal Canadiens in the annual New Year's Day affair (1 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

"We're in pretty good shape today," Don Renzulli, the NHL's executive vice president of events, said during a Monday update at the stadium. "Obviously just trying to beat the weather that's coming in [Monday night], but as you can see we got white paint down on the rink [Sunday] night. We're putting in the lines [Monday] and we're going to work on logos late [Monday] afternoon."

NEW YORK - As part of the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® festivities, the National Hockey League (NHL) will host the first-ever Outdoor Women's Classic presented by Scotiabank, an abbreviated exhibition game on the outdoor rink at Gillette Stadium. Fans that have a ticket to the 2016 NHL Winter Classic® Alumni Game (3:30 p.m. ET) can use that ticket to gain early entry into the stadium to watch the Outdoor Women’s Classic (2:00 p.m. ET). Gates will open at 1:30 p.m. ET. There is no separate ticket available for the exhibition game.

NEW YORK -- In the days leading up to the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic New Year's Day outdoor game between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens and the 2016 NHL Winter Classic® Alumni Game presented by Molson Canadian set for Dec. 31 at Gillette Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports), several Bruins greats will make a series of public appearances.

Former Bruins players Ray Bourque, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly and Bob Sweeney will take part in autograph signings and Q&A sessions before facing off against fellow Canadiens greats outdoors in the Alumni Game.

Hockey has no script, but the routines NHL players follow never change. The beauty of going behind the scenes in an all-access show like "EPIX Presents Road to the NHL Winter Classic" is that you get to see the players both in their routine and out of their element.

The opening scenes in the second episode featuring the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins gives the viewer a different, and perhaps better, perspective of two players who hear more boos than most: Bruins forward Brad Marchand and Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban.

Marchand is at Symphony Hall in Boston, wearing a Santa hat and tapping his foot as if it's a nervous tic. He is a ball of nerves as he waits in anguish to go out on stage with the Boston Pops to narrate "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

This is a player known for being a pest on the ice. He has all kinds of nicknames, most of them not very flattering. But here is Marchand, an effective player in his role, telling Santa Claus he's nervous and joking about ways to loosen up.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced game day plans for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® New Year's Day outdoor contest between the Boston Bruins® and Montreal Canadiens® at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The event will be broadcast live nationally on NBC in the U.S. and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada at 1 p.m. ET.

Montreal-based band Simple Plan has been added to the musical lineup for the event. The band will perform the Canadian national anthem and return to the stage during the second intermission for a set. Boasting worldwide sales topping 10 million, the band's Get Your Heart On! album spawned international hits with "Jetlag" and "Summer Paradise." The band's current single, "I Don't Wanna Go To Bed," featuring Nelly is racing up the global charts. Their fifth album, Taking One For The Team, is slated for a Feb. 19 worldwide release.