Baseball season is still three months away, but Boston's Fenway Park was bustling on Monday as the hometown Bruins and visiting Pittsburgh Penguins arrived at the Winter Classic in vintage baseball uniforms.
Led by captain Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins surprised fans gathered at the corner of Yawkey Way and Van Ness St. by exiting the team bus wearing 1915-era Red Sox threads to commemorate the club's third World Series title. Several players were seen carrying bats, gloves, and even enjoyed a game of catch on the field, where an ice rink had already been erected in anticipation of Monday's Winter Classic.
Not to be outdone, the Penguins stayed within their black-and-gold motif by honoring the 1925 World Series-winning Pirates.
The NHL's Winter Classic is the league's annual outdoor game. Although the locations and teams change from year to year, it's usually a chance to create a throwback atmosphere around a regular-season game.
This is the second time Fenway has hosted the outdoor extravaganza following the Bruins' overtime win over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers in 2010. The Bruins also hosted the Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in 2016, when the visiting Montreal Canadiens won 5-1.
The Bruins last played in the Winter Classic in 2019, when they beat the Chicago Blackhawks at Notre Dame's football stadium. On that occasion, the team arrived at the Winter Classic wearing Peaky Blinders-style suits.
The Penguins and captain Sidney Crosby are no strangers to the Winter Classic, having beaten the Buffalo Sabres in the inaugural game at a snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2008.
The first-place Bruins enter Monday's game with a four-point edge over the Carolina Hurricanes for the best record in hockey. The Penguins, meanwhile, have struggled this year, going 19-11-6 in 36 games (44 points).
On Sunday, Bruins star David 'Pasta' Pastrnak was honored at Fenway with a statue bearing his likeness – one that happened to be made from frozen spaghetti and pasta sauce.
'That's amazing,' the Bruins winger said in a viral video. 'Some red sauce in there too.
'Actually, my favorite too,' he added. 'Spaghetti.'
Pastrnak entered the day tied for fifth in the NHL with 25 goals on the season. He's expected to be signing a lucrative contract extension with the team soon, although a deal has not been finalized.
