The second edition of the Winter Classic, it matched the Chicago Blackhawks against the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the 701st game between the Central Division rivals.

[5] Beaver Stadium, the second largest outdoor sports venue in North America and the home of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, was also in consideration, with that location likely only if the two teams were the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers; because the Penguins had played in the previous Winter Classic, this scenario was ultimately rejected for 2009.

However, the Chicago Bears objected to the use of Soldier Field, citing the potential to host an NFL playoff game on the following weekend.

On July 6, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, was chosen to host the game.

The rink was built from the bottom with plywood and aluminum panels, the latter of which have tubes to move coolant under the ice to maintain a cold temperature.

Cubs' Hall of Famers Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg were on hand for the pregame ceremonies, along with several retired Blackhawks players.

About halfway through the third period, Sandberg along with Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Denis Savard sang a variation on "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" with a few word changes to reference hockey.

As with the 2008 game in Ralph Wilson Stadium, the NHL announced a rule change to account for any possible adverse weather conditions.

Taking into account high winds which are common during baseball games at Wrigley Field, the teams changed sides at the first whistle after the halfway point of the third period.

In Chicago, Thursday's game drew a national high of an 11.8 rating and 21 share, with Detroit second at 10.5 and 21 (this despite that yet again, a Michigan-based team was playing in the Capital One Bowl opposite the Winter Classic, the Michigan State Spartans).

Other above-average markets included Buffalo (whose 10.1 rating/20 share was comparable to Detroit's), St. Louis (5.3/10), Pittsburgh (4.4/8), Denver (4.2/10), Providence (3.5/7), Indianapolis (3.4/6), West Palm Beach (3.3/6) and Orlando (3.2/5).

Martin Havlat capitalized on another Red Wings mistake, scoring on the power play that resulted from Brett Lebda shooting the puck over the glass from his defensive zone.

Seventeen seconds later, Brett Lebda scored the Red Wings' final goal, chasing Cristobal Huet from the net, with Nikolai Khabibulin taking over for him.

Entries were accepted through the first two periods, at which time two winners, one inside Wrigley Field and one home viewer, were selected from those who chose the correct player.