The roof opening
Perhaps the biggest challenge surrounding this year’s edition of the Winter Classic was making sure the ice would last. Winter in South Florida is usually at least 20 plus degrees and sunny, which was behind the decision to delay the start of the match just after 20 local time so that the sun had set and the temperatures had settled down reasonably.
It also meant that they waited until the very end to open the roof at loanDepot park. However, the opening would be a bit of an event in itself as the roof disappeared and the open sky shone over the players and the audience while pretend snow fell over the stands.
– It was cool, it just took a little time, Zibanejad told NHL.com/sv about the roof opening with a laugh. But it was really good.
The music
The players walked out onto the ice as six-time Latin Grammy winner Luis Fonsi performed his mega-hit “Despacito.”
Role Model warmed up the fans with a performance during the pre-drop festivities outside the arena. He then followed that up with another performance inside loaDepot park in the first period break. During the performance of his hit “Sally, When the Wine Runs”, he invited Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov on stage for a dance. The duo brought home the Stanley Cup trophy to the cheers of the crowd.
