MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MINN. (Dec. 30, 2021) -A look at the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic® "By the Numbers."
2 - The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic® at Target Field will be the second NHL regular-season outdoor game for both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues. Minnesota defeated the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 6-1 in the 2016 NHL Stadium Series™ at TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium) and St. Louis defeated Chicago 4-1 in the 2017 NHL Winter Classic® at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic By the Numbers
4- Goaltenders with a shutout in an outdoor NHL game, including current Wild netminder Cam Talbot in the 2016 NHL Heritage Classic™ with the Edmonton Oilers. The others: Miikka Kiprusoff (2011 NHL Heritage Classic™ w/ CGY), Jonas Hiller (2014 NHL Stadium Series™ w/ ANA) and Craig Anderson (2017 NHL100 Classic™ w/ OTT).
4 - Number of Mill City Grille locations in Target Field serving Tater Tot Hot Dish, the Minnesota winter staple featuring ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, winter vegetables and crispy tater tots. Find it near sections 105, 118, 319 and Section Q on game day.
5 - Number of hours the Truly Hard Seltzer® NHL® PreGame at the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will be open on Saturday, Jan. 1 inside Target Center and along 1st Avenue and North 6th Street in downtown Minneapolis (12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. CT). The 2022 Truly Hard Seltzer® NHL® Pregame will feature a variety of hockey attractions, free giveaways, live musical performances, and much more. More than a dozen official NHL partners will participate to engage fans.
6- Target Field will become the sixth venue in Minnesota to host a regular-season or playoff NHL game, joining Metropolitan Sports Center/Met Center (1,108 GP), Xcel Energy Center (832 GP), Target Center (6 GP), St. Paul Auditorium (1 GP) and TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium, 1 GP).
8- Since the Twins moved to Minnesota in 1961, they've retired eight numbers, including five players who are in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Harmon Killebrew* - #3, Tony Oliva* - #6, Kent Hrbek - #14, Rod Carew* - #29, Kirby Puckett* - #34, Bert Blyleven* - #28, Tom Kelly - #10, and Joe Mauer - #7.
* - Baseball Hall of Famer
Posted Up With Ryan Carter
11 - Number of seasons the critically acclaimed docuseries, "Road To The NHL Winter Classic," has chronicled the lead up to the NHL Winter Classic® outdoor game. The behind-the-scenes series has been an annual staple for hockey fans, offering engaging storylines and unrestricted access to the teams set to face off outdoors in the highly-anticipated event. TNT is airing episodes of "Road to the NHL Winter Classic" featuring the Blues and Wild as they prepare for the Jan. 1 outdoor game. Watch episodes one, two and three.
13 - The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will mark the 13th NHL Winter Classic® and continues the tradition the League established in 2008 of hosting a regular-season outdoor game at the onset of the new year.
15 - Instances of a player scoring multiple goals in an outdoor NHL game. Wild forward Mats Zuccarello (w/ NYR) and Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko account for two of them.
17 - Wins by the road team in the NHL's 32 outdoor games to date (Road Teams: 17-11-4; Home Teams: 15-14-3).
18 - Number of multi-PLATINUM and GOLD-certified No. 1 singles country music superstar Thomas Rhett has amassed in his career. Thomas Rhett will perform during the first intermission presented by Ticketmaster, which will be televised as part of the NHL Winter Classic® national broadcast on TNT in the U.S. and on Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports in Canada.
23 - Number of players on the 2022 U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team final roster that will be revealed during the second intermission of the NHL Winter Classic®. The entire team will be in attendance for the NHL Winter Classic® for the on-field salute before they embark on their quest for a third gold medal in Olympic Women's Ice Hockey at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, Feb. 3-20, in Beijing, China.
27 - Minnesota-born players who have appeared in an outdoor NHL game (all skaters). Five Missouri-born players have appeared in an outdoor NHL game (also all skaters).
29 - Minnesota is where champions are born, producing the most Stanley Cup® winners of any state with 29 (Massachusetts ranks second with 24).
33 - The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will mark the 33rd NHL® regular-season outdoor game contested. Of the previous 32 games that have been played, 19 of those have been hosted within football stadiums, 10 have been played inside baseball stadiums, two played atop a golf course, and one inside a soccer stadium.
46 - Height, in feet, of the Minnie and Paul sign that stands prominently over the center-field batter's eye at Target Field. The sign will light up each time a Wild player scores a goal on Saturday, just as it does every time a Twins player hits a homer.
53 -Length, in feet, of the world's largest mobile rink refrigeration unit, specially built for outdoor
games conducted by the NHL.
58 - Total chutes deployed around Target Field in the days leading up to the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic®, to remove snow from the seating areas.
86 -The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic® will mark the 86th time the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues have faced off in regular-season games since the 2000-01 season, with the Blues holding a 100-91 edge in points over the Wild (STL 43-28-14-100; MIN 37-31-17-91). In addition, the Wild and Blues have met twice in the Stanley Cup® Playoffs, each having won a series.
91-Number worn by St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who leads the club in scoring with32 points (13-19-32 in 32 GP).
97 -Number worn by Minnesota Wild forward, Kirill Kaprizov, who leads the club in scoring with
36 points (12-24-36 in 30 GP).
116 - The portable outlet near Section 116 will serve Booyah, a traditional Upper Midwest soup of braised short rib, chicken thighs and root vegetables simmered in beef, chicken and oxtail broth, and served straight from the kettle with a side of crusty bread.
243 - Number of ice pans under the rink at Target Field, each measuring 30" x 340" in size.
300 - Ton capacity of the refrigeration trailer that will keep the ice cool at Target Field.
350 -Gallons of paint used to make the ice at Target Field white.
868 - Number of players and coaches who have participated in the NHL's 32 regular-season outdoor games to date (833 players, 35 coaches).
1945 - Year of the inaugural Minnesota State High School League Boys High School Hockey Tournament, which to this day annually draws sellout crowds at Xcel Energy Center.
1955 - The first NHL game in the state of Minnesota took place on Feb. 23, 1955, when the Chicago Black Hawks and Boston Bruins contested a neutral-site game at St. Paul Auditorium - it was reported the game was played at St. Paul as a fundraiser to help pay for the travel costs of sending the U.S. hockey team to the 1956 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The second was Oct. 21, 1967, when the Minnesota North Stars contested their home opener versus the Oakland Seals at Metropolitan Sports Center (3-1 W).
2010 - Year that Target Field, home of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins, officially opened its doors.
1,622,081 - Total attendance for the NHL's 32 regular-season outdoor games (an average of 54,069 per game when fans could attend; 30 of 32 GP).
