Avoiding distractions and keeping focused
The players are absolutely looking forward to this game as much for how special it will be as for how much fun it will be. Expect them to have plenty of adrenilin once they hit the ice. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has been here before. He played in the 2001 Cold War at Michigan State when he and his Spartans took on Michigan at Spartan Stadium. Miller says with the roar of the crowd and the chill in the air he understands how pumped up football players get for late-season, big games played in the elements.

The big challenge for the players on both teams is going to be adapting to everything being different from playing indoors. The quality of the ice will feel different. Obviously the temperature will be different and the lighting as well. There may be significant wind and there could also be precipatation. So the acid test for the Penguins and Sabres is going to be playing for the win without anything distracting them. They have to make sure they don't lose focus. This is a regular-season game and it counts in the standings. There are points to be won.

Once a player hits the ice surface in most arenas he's in a very familiar enviroment. But outdoors at Ralph Wilson Stadium it will be a very strange enviroment for these players. They can't get caught up in the atmosphere of playing in front of over 70,000 people to where the focus on their game suffers. Playing in the Winter Classic will be even more distracting than playing in the playoffs. The team that adapts best to the enviroment and atmosphere and best keeps its focus will have the better chance of winning. It's one thing for a player to take it all in and have fun but not at the expense of his focus.

Playing an NHL game outdoors is uncharted waters for the coaches. They'll talk to their players and tell them it will be a spectacle and it's going to be different, but in the end it's about concentration and winning the game. Other than that I don't know what the coaches -- Michel Therrien of Pittsburgh and Lindy Ruff of Buffalo --would do differently with their teams. Both coaches know their teams have to come prepared to play every game and that should never change regardless of the environment or atmosphere.

Keeping the spectacle special
It would be a mistake to create too many future Winter Classics. The sheen and the spectacle of the game would wear off. And there's always the potential of weather problems. The NHL is swinging for the fences -- and that's to be admired -- but swinging too hard for the fences too often will at some point lead to the league striking out.

If anything the NHL should take it outside maximum once a year. A one-time per season outdoor game on New Year's Day maybe rotating between a few different cities would be a wiser move than a bunch of outdoor games scattered on the schedule throughout the season. And scratch from the list the possibility of moving the All-Star game outdoors. Too risky. Anything that can promote NHL hockey and take it to another level I'm absolutely in favor of -- an outdoor game being of one of those things.

General manager Paul Holmgren of the Flyers has said he thinks it would be fantastic for the Flyers to play the Penguins outdoors at Penn State. John Stevens, the coach of the Flyers, seconded the notion. Stevens said he's seen hockey games at Penn State and the stadium is fantastic for the sport. So perhaps a path is beginning to be carved for more outdoor games, whether or not they are nationally televised. But that's a path the league must carefully study before making a decision on whether to travel down

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