'Road to Winter Classic' finale celebrates big day for hockey

Frigid temperatures and outside ice necessitate certain preparations for the 2018 Bridgestone Winter Classic between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Some of them in earnest; the hand warmers and extra insulation. Some of them in jest, like the Rex Specs goggles ordered for Sabres forward Kyle Okposo on Amazon and handed over as a joke by his teammates, and the balaclava donned to gentle mocking by Sabres forward Jack Eichel.

"I love this thing," Eichel proclaims during the fourth episode of "Road to the NHL Winter Classic," which debuted in Canada on SN1 at 7 p.m. ET on Friday and in the U.S. on NBCSN at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, following the game between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, and can be seen on NHL.com and YouTube beginning Monday at 9 a.m. ET. "I look like I'm about to rob a bank."
Or play hockey during one of the coldest cold snaps on record.
There is hockey ahead, with the Winter Classic on New Year's Day fast approaching, along with the show that documents it all, which can also be seen in full episodes on Youtube.com/NHL. Short-form versions of the 30-minute, four-week series will run on Facebook Watch via the NHL's Show Page at Facebook.com/BestoftheNHL every Friday.
But there are other things to attend to first, including a family skate on the Citi Field. That's where you can see the faces of the Sabres light up, along with their kids and wives, alongside the people that usually only watch the players on the ice.
Though the experience is new to some, it's old hat to Rangers' goaltender Henrik Lundqvist; he has already played in three outdoor games, including the 2012 Winter Classic.
"Leading up to the game, obviously it's a lot of talk about it and you start focusing about it and what it means to play in the game," Lundqvist says. "It's the weekend, you get to get a nice practice out there, bring the families and friends out there for a skate and take it all in today. Tomorrow it's all business. We need the points right now."

Having been through it before, he can appreciate the enormity of the stadium, the enormity of the experience.
"It's more of a roar," Lundqvist says of the sound generated by a full house at an outdoor game. "When you play indoors, you can hear guys screaming from the stands, if they yell really loud. Here you can't. You can just hear a roar."
Before the game, the roar is coming only from the Rangers themselves, as they take a crack at the batting cages located within Citi Field. Kevin Hayes seems particularly pleased with his efforts, and the sound he's able to make with the ball flying off the bat.
"I heard it," teammate J.T. Miller agrees. "It sounds nice."
The Rangers also enjoy a family skate, with Hayes' niece joining him and Lundqvist leading one of his daughters around by her hand, all of them persevering through temperatures in the teens.

But after all the preparation, all the fun and games and family togetherness, it's time to take the ice for real. It's "a great day for hockey," Sabres coach Phil Housley says before going over the starting lineup with his team.
The Rangers start strong, going up by two goals in the first period, but the Sabres are far from done.
"We were watching the game too much," Housley says in the dressing room. "We've got to get our feet moving. Let's be physical. … Jam in it there. Let's get hungry and get dirty and score a goal. This is our period, boys, our game."
The second period yields a goal for the Sabres, but they trail 2-1 after two periods. The Rangers have the lead, and the confidence.
"At five-on-five, we're the better team," coach Alain Vigneault says. "Stay five-on-five. Let's go out there, let's get this done."
But it doesn't take long for Buffalo's Rasmus Ristolainen to tie the score, and the game goes into overtime. At 2:43 of the extra period, Miller scores a power-play goal to win it for the Rangers.
But there was good on both sides.
"You guys should be proud of yourselves," Housley says. "We're going in a great direction here. … I want you guys to enjoy your families tomorrow. When we get back, we've got to keep building. It's difficult because we didn't get the result, but be proud of yourselves and stick together. It was just a great experience, eh? We just wish we would have come out on top."
Or, as Lundqvist says, "You don't play that many times outside, so obviously every game means a lot to you. You want to make the most of it. And it's just a fun experience to be part of, something that you don't take for granted, for sure. You're not going to enjoy this and look back at it as a great memory unless you win this game, and for me personally I enjoyed every minute. I could easily play one every year and I would not be tired of it."
A great day for hockey, indeed.