Screens need to be set

By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff  |  January 2, 2009

CHICAGO - When the NHL gets down to listing the pluses and minuses of its third outdoor game, larger in-stadium televisions should top the list of needs if it wants to go alfresco in another major league ballpark.

About half the Wrigley Field house of 40,818 had a poor view of the rink's surface for yesterday's festivities, and two large-screen TVs in the bleachers (one in left field, one in right field) did little to enhance the experience. The screens needed to be bigger and there needed to be more of them.

"There's always things that we'll look operationally to do even better next time," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Otherwise, the day went off flawlessly, with lots of back-and-forth action until the Red Wings pulled away early in the third period. Among the day's highlights: Wings forward Dan Cleary getting dumped over the boards and into the Chicago bench by Brent Seabrook at around the 2:00 mark of the first period.

It was game No. 554 on the 2008-09 schedule, and the setting relieved what can be a monotonous routine, what Red Wings coach Mike Babcock referred to as the "Groundhog Day" experience of the NHL.

Taking center stage in a ballpark, with 40,000-plus fans, makes for a much different experience for everyone.

"I don't care if you're [Chris ] Chelios, if you're 46 [years old]," mused Babcock, "or you're [Kris ] Draper and you're 37, or you're [Jiri] Hudler.

"I mean, it's a thrill to be out on the ice."

Some 2 1/2 hours before the puck was dropped, a large group of fans, many wearing the colors of their favorite team, streamed from the Addison Street subway stop on the city's Red Line that has delivered fans to Wrigley Field for decades.

Most of the proud sweater wearers sported the home "blood red" of the Blackhawks, but there was strong representation of red-and-white Wings wear, too. Joe Louis Arena, home of the Winged Wheels, is 288 miles northeast from home plate.

A few "out-of-towners" were mixed into the group. One guy wore Ranger blue, and another fashioned a Dallas sweater, with "MODANO" proudly displayed above the No. 9.

The guy with the Modano sweater was the subject of a few chuckles as he crossed the street some 30 yards in front of a Chicago police cruiser.

Suddenly, the crackle of the cruiser's loudspeaker could be heard.

"Hey, Modano," came the voice from inside the cruiser, "you're at the wrong game. Sorry . . . wrong game."

Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg, a bona fide rookie of the year candidate, potted the day's first goal and picked up an assist. Versteeg, originally Bruins property, was swapped to the Blackhawks for Brandon Bochenski . . . All of Wrigley's green grass, what wasn't covered by the rink itself, was covered with manmade snow . . . Prior to puck drop, someone dangled a plastic octopus about 20 feet down from the upper deck - a tribute to Detroit tradition dating to when a team needed eight wins (like eight legs) to win the Stanley Cup.