The NHL is clearly riding a wave of popularity and prominence with the hugely successful 4 Nations Face-Off quickly giving way to the Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin and his GR8 Chase. Next up is an outdoor game in Columbus poised to make its own history.
The league said that a Stadium Series game Saturday between the Red Wings and Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium, normally the home of Ohio State football, is set to draw more than 90,000 people. Regardless of the actual final count, the game will generate the second-largest attendance figure in NHL history, trailing only the 2014 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, which drew 105,491.
“This is an iconic place,” NHL president of content and events Steve Mayer said of Ohio Stadium. “I’ve watched some incredible sporting events take place in this building. It’s special to be here and for us to actually look at what will be the second-largest crowd in the history of these outdoor games, and to know that even though it started many years ago, we’re still going strong.”
Team Issues
The Stadium Series game, the league’s final outdoor contest this season, also marks a rise for both franchises—on and off the ice.
The event is the first outdoor game ever in Columbus, completing a long journey for the Blue Jackets to bring one of the showcase league competitions to the Ohio state capital.
The Red Wings and Blue Jackets, meanwhile, currently hold the top two wild-card slots in the Eastern Conference, giving the event additional competitive drama. Detroit, an Original Six NHL franchise that previously dominated the league at several points, is attempting to return to the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Columbus, meanwhile, is looking for its first playoff trip since the 2019–2020 season heavily altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and is planning to bring its iconic goal cannon to Ohio Stadium for the outdoor game.
The two teams will have a mini-playoff series, of sorts, preceding the Stadium Series game with another clash Thursday night in Detroit. The NHL has used this back-to-back scheduling strategy several times before involving an outdoor game, and is aimed in part at creating a more feisty on-ice atmosphere for the featured event.
