EPIX’s “Road to the NHL Winter Classic,” which follows the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the months leading up to their New Year’s Day matchup at Gillette Stadium, premiered Wednesday night. Below is our minute-by-minute recap of Episode 1.
Click here to watch the full episode.
0:38: First takeaway: It’s a real shame Liev Schreiber, who narrated this series during its HBO days, didn’t make the transition to EPIX. One of the best voices in the game.
1:01: Dennis Seidenberg’s glorious Movember mustache makes its first appearance.
2:23: “Welcome to one of the oldest, deepest, fiercest rivalries in all of sports.” Lets. Go.
3:10: We open in the apartment of Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban, who’s sure to be one of the biggest stars of this season. Subban, who sported an almost Pharrell-esque top hat during his interview, throws on a red fur coat for the commute to the Bell Centre.
3:46: Cut to the hotel room of Subban’s longtime nemesis, Brad Marchand.
“This game is about pride,” Marchand says. “The rivalry between the two teams, it’s a lot more than two points between these two teams. You want to get more hits. You want to make the other team hurt at the end of the day, and you want to embarrass that team. It goes a lot further than just us players. The hatred is between two cities, and I don’t think that’s ever going to end.”
4:35: More rivalry chatter, this time from Montreal captain Max Pacioretty.
“I was a Rangers fan growing up, so I hated everything about Boston,” says Pacioretty, who grew up in New Canaan, Conn. “I didn’t like the Sox, Patriots, Bruins.”
We also got a shot in the opening credits of Pacioretty’s young son wearing a Habs sweater and a Yankees hat. Folks in New England are sure to love that one.
5:33: “As a kid, I just grew up knowing Montreal was the enemy,” Boston native Jimmy Hayes says.
6:37: First F-bomb. Earmuffs, kids.
7:44: Brad Marchand out of context: “(Expletive) yeah, Douglas.”
Subban, meanwhile, urges the Canadiens to “play with a little bit of arrogance” in their Dec. 9 matchup with the Bruins.
9:58: Mic’d-up refs. Always entertaining.
10:54: Subban tumbles to the ice twice and can’t seem to figure out why.
“I thought it was my skate, and my skate was fine,” he tells the Montreal bench. “I had two glasses of wine last night.”
12:11: Brett Connolly gets a gash on his ear stitched up during intermission. It’s not a pleasant sight.
Elsewhere, Bruins coach Claude Julien is not happy with his team’s effort after a sluggish first period. He calls the effort “embarrassing” and calls out Loui Eriksson and David Krejci for being “slow.” Let’s see if they ratchet up the intensity. (Spoiler alert: They do.)
16:29: Thanks to a phenomenal performance by Tuukka Rask and third-period goals from Loui Eriksson, Landon Ferraro and Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins win 3-1 to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Canadiens.
18:59: Obligatory footage of Bobby Orr’s Stanley Cup-winning goal, sprinkled in with a heavy dose of old-time B’s-Habs highlights. Also, bonus points to the writers for working the word “indefatigable” into their script.
20:57: We catch up with Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher, who’s sporting some gnarly-looking stitches on his two fractured fingers. He’s hoping to be back on the ice in time for the Winter Classic.
25:53: During a game between the Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings, Habs rookie Daniel Carr gets a stern talking-to from the referee after cross-checking Wings goalie Petr Mrazek.
“You pushed the goalie!” the ref scolded. “Don’t touch the goalie!”
Once again, mic’d-up refs are the best.
30:08: Zack Bergeron, 8-week-old son of Patrice, makes his television debut. Super cute.
31:54: Bruins rookie Frank Vatrano is the latest player to show off an injury for the cameras, displaying the aftereffects of a high stick to the face in practice.
“Not good at all,” he says. That’s an accurate assessment.
34:30: We now take a midday stroll around the North End with Zdeno Chara.
“I feel Bostonian now,” the 6-foot-9 defenseman says. “I’m just a regular guy.”
36:51: Back to the Canadiens’ resident fashionista, Subban, who takes the cameras along as he goes through the process of designing a custom suit. He promises to break out a “legendary” getup for the Winter Classic.
40:00: Milt Schmidt, the oldest living Bruins alum, pays a visit to the B’s locker room.
“You’re playing great,” he tells the players. “Just keep it going so you don’t have the boss on your ass.”
The 97-year-old is accompanied by fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk, whom Julien jokingly calls “the second-oldest living Bruin.”
“Not yet,” the 80-year-old replies.
45:17: Bruins-Panthers. We see a few new angles of this:
“I did that on purpose, too,” Marchand says during the following intermission. “Been practicing that all summer.”
We also hear one player (it’s tough to make out who exactly) threatening to give another a Rock Bottom. Just another day at the rink.
Ryan Spooner scores twice, and the Bruins win 3-1.
50:05: Behind the scenes with Diane Bibaud, who has been playing the organ at Canadiens game for close to three decades.
“This team is just part of my blood,” she says.
57:15: We close with an inspirational montage, and that will do it for Episode 1. Check back next week for our full recap of Part 2.
