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Kalman: Can't Help Excitement When You Consider Bruins-Habs Classic Potential

FOXBORO (CBS) – There have been 14 NHL outdoor games played since the Winter Classic was invented for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres to play each other on New Year's Day in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home of the Buffalo Bills.

At this point it's easy to roll one's eyes when the NHL announces another installment, or batch of additions to their Stadium Series, because of the gross exploitation of the unique aspects of the games to attract the most television eyeballs and generate the most possible revenue for games that are still just one in an 82-game schedule.

Having already had the Bruins play at historic Fenway Park in 2010, the NHL decision to put the Bruins on a rink in the middle of Gillette Stadium seemed, at the time of the announcement last January, a step backwards in terms of the magnitude of the Winter Classic.

How could playing in a generic football canyon that opened for business in 2002 possibly top skating in the middle of the diamond, in the shadow of the Green Monster, in the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball?

Well, all the NHL had to do was add the right opponent. And when it comes to the Bruins there's no better foil than the Montreal Canadiens, who will in fact be the opposition Jan. 1, 2016 in the next edition of the Winter Classic.

Winter-Classic
The 2016 Winter Classic logo is displayed at Gillette Stadium. (WBZ-TV)

"You can tell with the players that are on stage, Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Yvan Cournoyer, so it's always, I guess it reminds of you, the rivalry, it didn't start with you," Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said at a media event about the Winter Classic on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium. "Years and years in the past and it's special to be a part of it and actually represent the Bruins on that stage. That's definitely going to be another chapter to the whole thing."

The recent bad blood between the Bruins and Canadiens, including four playoff matchups in the past eight seasons, has kept the longest rivalry in the NHL going at a fever pitch. But it never hurts to add a jolt to the system, and that's just what the Winter Classic will do. The hatred will be released in front of 70,000 rabid fans with playoff-like intensity in the middle of the season. Not only will there be two crucial points at stake, but also bragging rights. Being a part of the Winter Classic is an honor. Winning the Winter Classic gives a team a tale to tell for generations, while the loser basically turns the event into a footnote. Think how many times you've seen Marco Sturm's game-winning goal from 2010 replayed on television and at TD Garden. You probably don't see the Flyers showing Danny Syvret's goal from that game ever.

One look at the sample hockey boards on the Gillette field draped with banners featuring the special logos of both teams, not to mention the sight of Ray Bourque and Yvan Cournoyer on the dais, sparked the craving for hockey and the ultimate outdoor showdown between Boston and Montreal.

Of course, the eagerness for the Winter Classic's arrival has to be controlled, especially by the players. Every Boston-Montreal game though looms on the schedule and sometimes serves as a distraction. This Winter Classic and its buildup to it could be make it difficult to focus on other games, especially for the Bruins who are trying to right their ship after missing the playoffs last season. But the Bruins will embrace all the fanfare if Bergeron has anything to say about it.

"I like it. I'm excited about it," Bergeron said. "I've said that at Fenway, it's the same thing here, I've grown up playing pond hockey and outside hockey. It's definitely special every time you get a chance to do that. Even more so when it's a venue like Gillette or Fenway. I like it, I'm up for it. I think it's a great challenge and I guess it breaks down a little bit of the season as well, kind of being midway through. It's great."

There have been wholesale changes made to the Bruins' roster since last season, and especially since 2010. Many of the current Bruins will be playing in their first outdoor game. Dorchester native Jimmy Hayes played at Fenway Park for Boston College in 2010 but missed playing in a Stadium Series game for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014 because he was assigned to the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate in Rockford.

If getting traded to his hometown team from the Florida Panthers wasn't enough of a dream come true, the chance to play outdoors in the home of his favorite football team has enhanced the forward's pleasurable return to the Bay State.

"Getting traded here, and then hearing about the Winter Classic, it's going to be a great moment for me," Hayes said. "All my friends are excited for it. That was one of the first things they mentioned when I got traded. So to be a part of it is going to be awesome."

So the Winter Classic gets a pump-up, the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry gets enhanced in its 910th installment (all-time, including playoffs) and the 2015-16 Bruins season will have a carrot in the middle for the Bruins to strive toward. They want to be playing their best by New Year's and then they'll want to leave Gillette triumphant. Between the importance of the game and the attention it will get, there will be plenty of sources of excitement to keep the Bruins from falling into any doldrums before and after. The Bruins missed out on the playoff atmosphere in spring of 2015, so the winter of '15-16 will remind them what that's like.

If the Winter Classic can bring out the best in the Bruins, both on New Year's Day and in the time leading up to and after showdown with Montreal, it'll be a boon for more than just the League and NBC's coffers. That won't be anything to roll your eyes about.

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.

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