Remembering the 2012 Winter Classic

In less than a week's time, the Rangers will take it outside for their fourth outdoor game and second Winter Classic, this time against the Buffalo Sabres at Citi Field in Queens.
New York is 3-0 in outdoor games, including a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2012, which marked the first time the Blueshirts played a regular season game in open air.
Now nearly six years later, current and former Rangers recount the weeks leading up to the game against the Flyers and the comeback in enemy territory led by an unexpected forward and the game-saving stop in the dying seconds of regulation that's become an iconic moment in franchise history.
[Note: some answers have been condensed for size and clarity.]

Henrik Lundqvist: It was very exciting that year because it was something you'd never done before. The anticipation going into it and having the TV crew around us - it was so much attention and people talking about that game. It's hard not to think about it. As it was leading up to the game I thought we were in a good place as a team to really enjoy the whole experience.
Marc Staal: A long lead up to that one. I got cleared by the doctors [following a concussion the season prior] maybe two days before. Once I got the OK, I was ready to go. It felt like pretty much everyone on the ice was going through a new situation, so me coming into that, being off for that long and being a little rusty would be a benefit. Obviously I didn't want to miss it.
Brad Richards:The Winter Classics were becoming something as a player you'd watch them every year. I remember watching the Chicago vs Detroit game at Wrigley Field. You think it would be cool to play in one of those. When I signed in New York, I knew we'd be playing in one against the Flyers. You're very happy and fortunate you were able to do it.
Mike Rupp:It was actually really good because we had a number of games against Philly before [the Winter Classic]. That kind of set the stage for the game. The one thing I never realized until I played with the Rangers, I didn't realize how disliked the Flyers were and vice versa. You got to learn that real quick. I loved it.
The Rangers fell behind the Flyers, 2-0, midway through the second period on goals by Brayden Schenn and Claude Giroux just 1:55 apart.
Rupp: The bench was a little bit quiet. I think you're just looking to get a response. You know you have to get one here soon or control the play because things can get away from you in that game.
Just 30 seconds after Giroux scored, Rupp answered with a wrist shot from the slot that beat goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Rupp: Any time you have that in a hockey game in general it's always an awesome feeling. When the team scores and you feel deflated, and the next shift someone goes out and gets one. It certainly helps on the scoreboard but it just changes the mindset to 'hey, we're not going anywhere.' I just felt like we were fortunate to do it on that shift and from then on, it just started to build for us.
Staal: In those games, there's always someone that steps up and make a big play and Rupper had a big game. He had a couple nice plays and it got us on the board. It's a big lift.

Rupp celebrated by removing his glove and saluting the crowd, reminiscent of Jaromir Jagr, who at the time was a member of the Flyers.
Rupp: I always get asked if it was a planned thing - I didn't score enough goals to plan something like that. There's no chance I knew I was going to score in that game. I think it was just a reactionary thing to just try and invoke things in that environment where it would feel more like us versus everybody. I felt like it worked. I remember having guys on their team screaming at me all game. Claude Giroux before a faceoff is yelling at me telling me how disrespectful I was. I said 'we got these guys.' No one is even thinking about only being within a goal now.
Rupp's big afternoon continued when he scored his second goal of the game 2:41 into the third period to tie the game, 2-2.
Ryan McDonagh: It's obviously uplifting when a guy you're not expecting to score goals does it and comes up with a clutch play like that. That's what the circumstances and the uniqueness of that game is. The situation you're in with the ice and the flow of the game, it's a big spectacle. You want guys to be focused because one or two plays could make the difference, and it certainly was there.
Rupp: You have that goal and I just think for me at that part in my career when I wasn't scoring very many goals, being able to pop that second one - all the fans were probably thinking after the first one are saying 'oh what a joke this guy gets the goal. Are you kidding me?' And then I go and pop the second one and it's like, 'yep, I'm for real for today, at least.' [Laughs]
Richards: "It was huge for Rupper. He was not scoring 20-25 goals a year but he'd come up with big ones. We don't win that game without him."
New York had its first lead of the game when Richards buried a rebound on the side of the net 5:21 into the third period to put the Rangers up 3-2.
Richards: It's obviously a big goal in a big game that's on a stage like that. The biggest thing I remember because your outdoors, you don't hear the crowd for another two seconds. You can hear yourself and your teammates more than you can the fans. Then you hear the fans. Little things like that that are so different when you're playing outdoors.

The Rangers clung to their one-goal advantage into the final minute of regulation when McDonagh was called for covering the puck with his hand in the crease, which resulted in a penalty shot by Daniel Briere with 20 seconds remaining.
McDonagh: I don't think I agreed with the call. I had to keep the puck out and I don't believe I covered it. At the same time, everything is happening quick. You try and argue and it doesn't change, and here he is coming down the ice. I just remember hoping Hank would come up with the save. He works so hard on breakaways in practice all the time so I had a lot of confidence in him. It was a great feeling for sure to see him make that stop.
Lundqvist: I don't know if being a goalie you have a short memory, but I don't remember it much but I've seen it so many times on TV. When you watch it, it brings back the memory of the importance and the excitement in that moment with the game on the line. It's kind of a cool situation to be in, to be one-on-one with the game on the line. When you pull it off, it's obviously pretty exciting.
Staal: I just remember thinking the guy is not going to score. Hanky lives for moments like that and he stepped up and made a big save.

New York took the game, 3-2, in their first regular season outdoor game. Two years later, they beat both the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders in the NHL's Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium. The memories of that January day in Philadelphia are still vivid six years later.
Richards: Anything you do that's unique and special and fun like that is memorable. I was fortunate to play in a few of them. To be part of the NHL and play in these events, it's special. It's a big stage. You can't really compare it to a playoff game, but in a long 82-game season grind it's fun to add that in. There's different energy in that.
Rupp: Even if I didn't get two goals in the game, I think it would still be on high on my list. Just the outdoor games in general. I can think of things in those games and things that for whatever reason stand out. It's just so cool. They're just so well done from the League and the teams. The memories you get from family and friends.
McDonagh: Being able to celebrate the win with family and friends who came in for that. For us, it was a road game but we had a great turnout of fans. I'm looking forward to having even more Ranger fans [at this year's game] and having a big crowd behind us to cheer us on. It gets really loud in those spectacles in the big stadiums. I'm expecting a loud crowd and a fun atmosphere.
Lundqvist: The best memory is probably walking off. You take it all in. The fans were super excited we won. It was such a big relief and a great feeling to win that game. There was so much leading up to it that you want to make sure you have a good experience and win. Walking off, to hear the crowd, that was the best part.