Washington Capitals hockey captain Alex Ovechkin, centre, flanked by teammates Braden Holtby, left, and Nicklas Backstrom, poses for a photo wearing the teams uniform for the 2015 Bridgestone Winter Classic hockey game, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, during an unveiling at Nationals Park in Washington.Susan Walsh/The Associated Press
With Alex Ovechkin wearing flip-flops and a borrowed pair of baseball pants on a warm start-of-autumn day, the Washington Capitals have unveiled the uniforms they'll wear when they host the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL's Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Nationals Park.
At a news conference Tuesday at the baseball stadium, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis says he lobbied NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman from the moment the puck dropped for the first Winter Classic, in 2008.
Leonsis says that "for hockey in Washington, D.C., it's a big moment" to finally host the New Year's Day game.
Hockey nets and the outline of a rink were set up across the back of the dirt diamond and the shallow outfield grass where the NL East Nationals play their home games.