The 2023 NHL Stadium Series was an outdoor regular season

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) game, part of the

Stadium Series The Stadium Series is one of the series of NHL outdoor games, regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). This event is distinct from the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic, played in a di ...

of games. The game took place on February 18, 2023, at

Carter–Finley Stadium Wayne Day Family Field at Carter–Finley Stadium is a List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums, college football stadium located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It has been home to the NC State Wolfpack football, NC State Wolfpack football team ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, with the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

hosting the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. The Hurricanes were originally scheduled to host the 2021 Stadium Series but the game was canceled due to the

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Background

After he took majority control of the team in 2018, Hurricanes owner

Thomas Dundon Thomas Dundon (born September 5, 1971) is an American billionaire businessman, specializing in financial services, real estate and sports entertainment. He is chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners in Dallas, Texas, chairman of ...

made it a goal to have his club play in its first outdoor game. In 2019, Dundon invited NHL Commissioner

Gary Bettman Gary Bruce Bettman (born June 2, 1952) is an American sports executive who serves as the NHL commissioner, commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL), a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice preside ...

to take a tour of Carter–Finley Stadium to see if it was feasible. On February 15, 2020, the league initially announced that the Hurricanes would host the 2021 Stadium Series. Before the league could finalize the game, the Hurricanes sought additional funding of $200,000 from the local government and other organizations to help offset the cost of hosting the game. The

forced the league to delay the conclusion of the 2019–20 playoffs until late September, and consequently push the start of the 2020–21 season to January 2021. On October 22, 2020, the NHL announced that it had postponed both the 2021 NHL Winter Classic and the 2021 All-Star Game due to "ongoing uncertainty" since both January events rely on fan participation. The decision to further postpone the 2021 Stadium Series game was made on December 23. The Hurricanes later asked the league to move their outdoor game to the 2022–23 season, with team president and general manager

Don Waddell Donald Douglas Waddell (born August 19, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player who is currently the president of hockey operations and general manager for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He previously held similar le ...

stating that he wanted "to assure a safe environment". On February 4, 2022, the league confirmed that the Hurricanes would host the 2023 game, and later announced on March 3, 2022, that the Washington Capitals would be the opponent. The game was Carolina's first outdoor game and Washington's fourth.

Game summary

Carolina controlled most of the game, scoring the first four goals en route to a 4–1 win. Martin Necas scored a goal and two assists,

Jesperi Kotkaniemi Jesperi Kotkaniemi (; born 6 July 2000) is a Finns, Finnish professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), center for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected third overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2018 N ...

and Teuvo Teravainen each scored a goal and an assist,

Paul Stastny Paul Stastny (; ) (born December 27, 1985) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey center who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, ...

had a goal, and

Frederik Andersen Frederik Andersen (born 2 October 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Representing Denmark men ...

made 24 out of 25 saves and had an assist. Tom Wilson scored Washington's lone goal in the third period. :''Number in parentheses represents the player's total in goals or assists to that point of the season''

Team rosters

: Charlie Lindgren and Antti Raanta dressed as the back-up goaltenders. Neither entered the game.

Scratches

*Washington Capitals: Alexander Alexeyev,

Aliaksei Protas Aliaksei Uladzimiravich Protas (, ; born 6 January 2001) is a Belarusian professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), winger for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Protas previously played two seasons of major junior f ...

, Joe Snively *Carolina Hurricanes:

Dylan Coghlan Dylan Coghlan (born February 19, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Defenceman (ice hockey), defenceman for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NH ...

Broadcasting

Originally scheduled to air on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, the game was broadcast nationally in the United States by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and streamed on

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

and was simulcast in Canada via

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

References

{{Hockey Night in Canada NHL Stadium Series

NHL Stadium Series The Stadium Series is one of the series of regular season outdoor games played in the National Hockey League (NHL). This event is distinct from the NHL's other two series of outdoor games, the NHL Winter Classic, played in a different NHL city e ...

Carolina Hurricanes games Washington Capitals games Ice hockey in North Carolina Sports competitions in Raleigh, North Carolina 2020s in Raleigh, North Carolina