The Hockey Stop

The Washington Capitals will visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field on New Year's Day for the 2011 NHL Winter Classic.

This is going to be a great game between two fierce rivals. And of course there is Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby for the league to hype to the maximum.

Also, commissioner Gary Bettman indicated that Washington will host a Winter Classic in the next two to three years. The Capitals Insider blog asks fans where they would want the game played.

Out of 1,072 votes so far 39 percent, including myself, voted for the National Mall followed by Nationals Park with 33 percent, RFK Stadium with 14 percent, FedEx Field with 11 percent and 1 percent for somewhere else.

The National Mall would be spectacular. Can you imagine a hockey game with the majestic backdrop of the Capitol Building on one side and the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the other side? It would be breathtaking. The National Mall recently handled more than a million people for the Obama inauguration so I'm sure it could handle 50,000 for a hockey game.

ESPN.com is reporting a source told senior writer E.J. Hradek that the Philadelphia Flyers will play the Boston Bruins in Fenway Park on New Year's Day as part of the third NHL Winter Classic.

There was speculation that the Washington Capitals would play the Bruins but apparently the NHL wants the Caps to play the New York Rangers at the new Yankee Stadium on New Year's Day 2011.

The popular outdoor event is likely being expanded into a doubleheader on Jan. 1 with the Flyers-Bruins being followed by the Leafs-Flames at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

The inaugural Winter Classic in 2008 was played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo and set an NHL attendance record of 71,217. Hockey fans braved the biting Upstate New York winter weather to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on a shootout goal by Sidney Crosby.

The second Winter Classic took place at Chicago's Wrigley Field (pictured above) and pitted the Chicago Blackhawks against the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings won the game 6-4.

The Winter Classic has grown into a great showcase for the sport and draws in casual viewers who don't normally tune into hockey games as the solid TV ratings prove.

Beantown is sure to be buzzing just as Wrigleyville was for the event. However, a Washington-New York matchup in 2011 at the new Yankee Stadium featuring Alex Ovechkin and the bright lights of the Big Apple would be hard to beat in terms of generating excitement.