Several teams have approached the N.H.L. about staging outdoor games next season, after the success of Tuesday’s game between the Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium outside Buffalo, a league spokesman said.
The game drew 71,217 fans and generated a wave of good feeling for the league and the sport. It had the highest American television rating for a regular-season game in more than a decade. In Canada, it had the second-highest rating for a daytime game in the regular season, trailing only Wayne Gretzky’s farewell game.
“There have been several expressions of interest,” said Frank Brown, the N.H.L. vice president for media relations, but he did not specify from which teams.
The Flyers’ president, Peter Luukko, has had “informal conversations” about staging a game between the Flyers and the Penguins at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium, a Flyers spokesman said.
Detroit Coach Mike Babcock suggested the Red Wings play a game at Michigan Stadium. Other suggestions made last week for future outdoor games involved Yankee Stadium, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and Montreal.