Yankee Stadium to host two NHL Winter Classic games in 2014

The NHL really loves their outdoor games and yesterday announced that they will expand the Winter Classic to six games next season, according to si.com.

Yankee Stadium will be the lucky recipient of two of those games involving all three of the New York City metro area NHL teams.

The New York Rangers are tentatively scheduled to play the New Jersey Devils at the stadium on Jan. 26, followed by a Rangers-New York Islanders game Jan. 29.

Having both games in the same week is pure marketing genius. The games will precede Super Bowl XLVIII Feb. 3 at MetLife Stadium and have thousands of NFL fans and media clamoring for something new to pass the time in boring old New York.

Yankee Stadium had long been rumored to be a host for an outdoor game, but the addition of the Pinstripe Bowl to the stadium's winter schedule seemed to prevent that as far as the Winter Classic was concerned.

Now, with the NHL's desire to appease fans following the lockout, the opportunity for later games arose.

The first game of the Classic will be held New Year’s Day between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium, before an expected crowd of more than 100,000.

According to si.com, the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings are tentatively set to meet Jan. 25 at Dodger Stadium. The series would conclude with a Pittsburgh-Chicago game set for Soldier Field on March 1, and an Ottawa-Vancouver game set for B.C. Place on March 2, part of what is being called the "Stadium Series."