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Well that was... something.
The NHL decided to come up with their own answer to the NFL's Nickelodeon game with the Big City Greens Classic, and it was definitely an interesting concept.
Tuesday's game between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden was broadcast on ESPN, but if you tuned into Disney Channel, you would've seen a hockey game that rivaled the likes of the Twilight Zone. Animated versions of Capitals and Rangers players went at it in front of a captivated audience of humans, alien inspired life forms, zebras, giraffes, bears, the referees were chickens, fights were censored with a dust ball, hits were represented with a comic book "boom!" and select players were replaced with some fan favorite cartoon characters.
Vincent Trocheck getting subbed out for Cricket Green was just the spark that the Rangers needed as they lifted themselves to a 5-3 win over the Caps. Both goalies, Igor Shesterkin and Darcy Kuemper, were represented by Gramma Alice and Bill, while Evgney Kuznetsov was replaced with Tilly Green.
I'll be honest, I had no idea that this event was inspired by a cartoon that goes by the same name on Disney Channel. Clearly I'm not as cool as I used to be or up on the times enough to have understood the reference until days later.
Parents all over Twitter have praised the program, stating that their children actually sat down for the entirety of the game and thoroughly enjoyed it. So good on you Gary Bettman! Way to reach the kids.
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