The Bruins are headed back to the ballpark.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced on Friday that the Bruins will host the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the second time the home of the Red Sox has been the stage for the annual outdoor game that is the highlight of the NHL’s regular season.

Fenway was the site of the Winter Classic in 2010, when the Bruins beat the Flyers, 2-1, in overtime. This will be the third time the B’s will be hosting the Classic – Gillette Stadium housed the 2016 Classic when they lost to the Canadiens, 5-1 – and their fifth outdoor game. They also played the 2019 Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium, beating the Blackhawks, 4-2, and last season they played a strikingly picturesque outdoor game at Lake Tahoe, where they again beat the Flyers, 7-3.

Though an opponent has not yet been announced, Red Sox ownership (Fenway Sports Group) does have an NHL team of its own, having recently purchased the Pittsburgh Penguins. Whether that’s a matchup that would appeal to the league or would be viewed as too awkward remains to be seen.

ALL-STAR GAME: Most of the world’s best hockey players are spending this weekend in opulent hotel suites in one of the planet’s top party towns instead of being confined to modest Olympic accommodations in freezing-cold Beijing.

The NHL All-Stars still aren’t happy about missing their chance to compete for gold medals, but nobody was complaining Friday morning about the consolation prize of a sunny weekend in Vegas.

“It’s disappointing, because you realize you never know when you’re going to get an opportunity to go to the Olympics,” said Pittsburgh left wing Jake Guentzel, a probable member of the U.S. team. “It’s something you dream about, and it’s disappointing that it didn’t happen. But it’s not too bad to be in Vegas. This is a great spot to have it, and I know a lot of guys are excited.”

With the skills competition Friday night and the game Saturday, the NHL’s top talents are set to light up the Strip in a city that has become a vital part of the hockey landscape in less than five years.

The league had to skip its All-Star festivities last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. They’re back in full force this week at T-Mobile Arena, which will be packed with its usual menagerie of Nevada’s rabid hockey fans.

But the All-Stars can’t help feeling bittersweet about the weekend when they see footage of the Olympics on television, or when they see their countrymen at All-Star events.

“Yeah, it’s a disappointment,” said Nashville captain Roman Josi, who was headed to his second Olympics after playing for Switzerland in Sochi. “It was an amazing experience in 2014, and I think it’s something every athlete wants to do. I wish we could have found a way to play in the Olympics.”

Josi will watch the Swiss team in Beijing from afar, although he isn’t sure how the time difference works. That’s one of the many reasons the NHL passed on on playing in an Asia-based Winter Games four years ago and was a factor again this year before the pandemic forced the league to pull out.

• Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin will miss the weekend festivities after entering the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday. The 12-time All-Star selection would have been the captain of the Metropolitan Division team, and he was likely to participate in the Hardest Shot competition Friday.

 

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