Winter Classic 2011: Penguins, Capitals Scoreless After First Period

After one period of play at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, the Capitals and Penguins are scoreless in the 2011 Winter Classic.

The period was highlighted by a fight between Mike Rupp and John Erskine just about 12 minutes in, one of the most entertaining we've seen this year. Then again, it helps that they're under the lights on a football field, too. People love good theater.

Jordan Staal, playing in his first game of the season (excellent timing), played 4:39 in that first period. He won 83 percent of his faceoffs, going 5 of 6. He took two shots and doled out two hits. Nice to see he's getting involved physically.

Each team had one power play attempt, but overall, the game is much slower than the typical indoor game thus far. That's surely an effect of the bad ice conditions. There's a brutal glare from the stadium lights and some parts of the ice clearly have puddles forming. 

It's creating a sloppy hockey game, but these guys are in the NHL. They'll adapt throughout the evening, and the team that best adapts to the surroundings will likely win this game.