Before the festivities begin in earnest, Rick Nash provided an honest explanation of what the Winter Classic means to the Rangers.
“I don’t know if it makes sense — it’s a game and the two points are there, but it doesn’t feel it,” Nash told The Post after a 3-2 shootout loss Friday to the Red Wings in Detroit, the final tune-up before a Sunday afternoon outdoor practice at Citi Field leading into the game against the Sabres on New Year’s Day. “You’re playing outside. You’re going to be freezing cold. It feels more of an event, if that makes sense. There’s a bunch of distractions around it.
“At the end of the day, everyone is going to give you the answers: ‘It’s a huge game. We need the two points.’ And it’s true. But I think it’s more of an event, a show that you put and something you’ll always remember. That you’ve played in a Winter Classic is pretty cool.”
So, yes, the Rangers are very much looking forward to the NHL’s marquee event — outside of the playoffs. The weather is expected to be cold and sunny, perfect for participants’ remembrances of playing on ponds as children that instilled a love for hockey.
But the Rangers have been focused on the grind of the season for three months now, and finally, the time is here to focus on the pomp and circumstance. Like the quick moment that sprung up on Kevin Hayes the other day, when he was getting ready to carpool to practice with roommates Jimmy Vesey and Brady Skjei.
“I’m with Vesey and Brady every day, and we were walking to the car the other day we were like, ‘Yeah, it is going to be pretty cool,’ ” Hayes said. “Obviously it’ll be something you remember forever. We’re lucky enough to be having it in New York.”
The three young guys who live together in Tribeca were the focus of one of the 30-minute episodes of “Road to the Winter Classic” on NBCSN, an inside look at teams in the month or so leading up to the event. The cameras have been omnipresent for some time, and any distraction seemingly had dissipated as time went on.
“We were given pretty fair warning about it,” Hayes said of the look into their living quarters. “They know to film when they have to, and lay back when they don’t. They’re good guys when you just talk to them, but I don’t think a distraction at all.
“I think it helps promote the game, something we’re all for. It gives fans somewhat of an insight into the everyday life that we have. They only take bits and pieces of it, but I think it’s a good way to connect to fans and show them our personalities outside of the rink.”
The Rangers have played in three outdoor games, but only one Winter Classic, the 2012 matchup with the Flyers at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. That game included a dramatic penalty shot from Daniel Briere that Henrik Lundqvist stopped with 19.6 seconds left in the third period to seal the 3-2 victory, as well as coach John Tortorella implying NBC had rigged the game to be more dramatic.
“First game outside was obviously special, something you’ll always remember — especially the way it played out at the end, it was very dramatic,” said Lundqvist, who is 3-0 (as are the Rangers) in outdoor games, which includes beating the Islanders and Devils at Yankee Stadium in 2014. “To do it in front of so many people, the whole atmosphere, walking off after that game is something that was a really cool feeling.”
So just as Nash said, the points are needed in the standings, but the play is more to ensure the show is entertaining and the Rangers leave with the good feeling. Because this really is a spectacle they are happy to participate in, and they just want it to turn out in their favor.
“Hopefully we can play a really strong game,” Lundqvist said, “and have a lot of great memories.”