The 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic is less than two weeks away, as the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators prepare to battle it out on January 1 at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Tex. The “Road to the Winter Classic” three-part docuseries offers a behind-the-scenes look at both the Stars and Predators in the days leading up to one of hockey’s most-anticipated games.
The “Road to the Winter Classic” airs at 10:30 p.m. EST on NBCSN this coming Monday in the United States. In Canada, it airs at 6:00 p.m. ET on SN1 today.
Speaking on their slow start to the season, Stars’ new head coach Rick Bowness said, “You have to be professionals. No one expected what happened, no one saw it coming, but we all signed up to be a coach or a player, and when it comes to game time, you’ve got to prepare. No distractions, no excuses, just get ourselves ready to play.”
Hopefully, the docuseries doesn’t provide an extra distraction for the Stars during their race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bowness continues, “There are times to deal with it and time not to deal with it. When you come to the rink, it’s not the time to deal with it. When you go away from the rink, deal with whatever you want. When we come here it’s all business, business as usual. It’s a very busy time and we just have to get dialed in here.”
When asked about the Winter Classic, he seemed unimpressed, saying, “Not too worried about that. That’s another game, and it’ll be fun for everybody.”
Predators’ head coach Peter Laviolette seems more excited for the game, joking, “I’m really working on trying to get my mom to put on a pair of skates and take a couple of laps the day or two prior [to the Winter Classic], but it’s going to be special for all of us.”