In just four days the New York Rangers will visit the City Of Brotherly Love, and play the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 edition of the Winter Classic, which will be played at Citizens Bank Park, Jan. 2 (1 p.m. ET on NBC). Surprisingly, this will be the first time that the Blueshirts will be playing in the NHL's annual outdoor game, which began in 2008 when the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
So far this season, the Rangers have hosted the Flyers twice and beaten them both times.
On Nov. 26, the Rangers used goals from center Brad Richards and right winger Brandon Prust, and 29 saves from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to blank visiting Philadelphia, 2-0.
And, just a few days ago, Dec. 23, the Rangers used another solid effort by Lundqvist (28 saves) to beat the Flyers, 4-2.
As for a composite final score-results history of the NHL's Winter Classic, here it is:
2008: Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Buffalo Sabres 1 (SO) -- Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo
2009: Detroit Red Wings 6, Chicago Black Hawks 4 -- Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL
2010: Boston Bruins 2, Flyers 1 (OT) -- Fenway Park in Boston, MA
2011: Washington Capitals 3, Penguins 1 -- Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA
For more coverage of the Winter Classic between the Rangers and Flyers, stay tuned to our storystream. For more Rangers coverage, visit our team page or Blueshirt Banter. SB Nation's Broad Street Hockey has everything on the Flyers.