Winter Classic: Stars Wrangle a Cotton Bowl Comeback outta Nashville

Maybe it's not common knowledge, but the Dallas-Ft Worth metro area is a hotbed of hockey and has been for a while.

Their StarCenters pepper the region with rinks that are constantly hosting amateur tournaments at all levels and are renowned all over North America for their competition and quality.

So it wasn't a surprise to the local puckheads that the Cotton Bowl would be totally packed for the NHL's annual New Year's extravaganza.

 

If their expectations were high ...

 

... their wishes were fulfilled.

This was a day's entertainment that had everything, and that means everything:

 

Being real, they got off to a better start than the Stars.

This was always gonna be an intense game. The season's nearing its midpoint, and both Dallas and Nashville are keenly aware that victories are vital right now:

• Dallas has recovered from a horrendous 1-8 start to challenge for the Central Division lead, but they're one game away from embarking on a brutal stretch that features eight road games outta their next ten; while
• Nashville's still fighting to get into a playoff slot, and after this one, they've got five of their next six on the road.

 

The Winter Classic's electric atmosphere added to the adrenaline rush, and it showed. Dudes were cracking plastic out there.

Corey Perry was one of them, but only for a shade under three minutes. That's when his elbow found Preds D-man Ryan Ellis, and now matter whom you believe, it was vicious:

 

Perry became a trivia answer by getting a five-&-a-game, making him the first player ever to be ejected from a Winter Classic. It was fitting, because Ryan had to be helped from the ice and didn't return, either.

Nashville made the most of it while they could. A puck cleared over the boards gave them a 5-on-3 for a while, which Matt Duchene converted. In the remainder of the major, Dante Fabbro netted one, too.

However, the Preds couldn't get anything past Ben Bishop after that.

 

The Stars clawed a goal back late in the second, compliments of Blake Comeau, which set the stage for a power-play fueled rally in the third that sealed the deal for Dallas.

Dudes got outta Dodge with a 4-2 win:

 

This makes three losses in a row for Nashville.

With an eye toward their aforementioned schedule, G Pekka Rinne displayed a firm grasp of the obvious:

 

Among other concerns, they've gotta hope Ellis clears concussion protocol. He's needed.

Meanwhile, another potential trivia answer was left wanting. With Denis Gurianov missing that penalty shot, the Winter Classic hasn't had a player convert one yet.

 

Yup. The Winter Classic prop bet that never pays.

There's always next year.

Until then, time to celebrate this year.