Bruins, Blackhawks make time for holidays on 'Road to Winter Classic'

Members of the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks have plenty of important things to take care of before the Bridgestone 2019 NHL Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium on Jan. 1. (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVAS).

There are dogs to be walked, holiday presents to be bought, family lunches to be had, ugly Christmas sweaters to wear and, of course, hockey games to win.
As the outdoor game approaches, so do the holidays, and the second episode of the three-part "Road to the NHL Winter Classic," which airs Thursday (5:30 p.m.; NBCSN), goes behind the scenes to show members of each team mixing hockey and family at this special time of the year.
Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk takes some time away from the rink to have lunch with his dad and brother, who spend a good part of their time working on the rink at Boston's TD Garden.

Bruins forward David Pastrnak has a special guest for the holidays, his mom, who makes her son feel at home by cooking some of her recipes from the Czech Republic.
"It's always nice to have Mom around," Pastrnak said. "I don't have to do anything but sleep and go to work."
Bruins defenseman Torey Krug has much to do off the ice, especially finding a holiday gift for his bulldog, Fenway. While Krug and his wife Melanie are up for some shopping at a local pet store, Fenway has other plans.
Brad Marchand and the Bruins all apparently did their own shopping, and they can't wait to show off their ugly holiday suits before a home game against the Anaheim Ducks.
In Chicago, Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy is making sure his "Elf on the Shelf" keeps moving around, while forwards Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome can't get enough hockey, spending part of their day playing EA Sports NHL'19 video game before taking Strome's dog, Ralph, for a walk.

Though it's a joyous time of the year, the Blackhawks are dealing with some adversity with No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford out with a concussion. It's a tough blow, but they all have confidence 14-year veteran Cam Ward can do the job.
The Bruins, meanwhile, get some good news on the injury front, with forward Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Zdeno Chara, each out since October with injuries, retuning to practice.
Despite losing their final games before the Christmas break, the Bruins and Blackhawks had each won their previous three games and are playing good hockey heading toward the Winter Classic.
They each have two regular-season games before the Winter Classic, but first the holidays and family.