ST. LOUIS -- Outdoor hockey is coming to St. Louis.
The NHL said Wednesday night before the St. Louis Blues' game against the Chicago Blackhawks that the teams will play in the Winter Classic at Busch Stadium on Monday, Jan. 2.
St. Louis will be the eighth franchise to host the Winter Classic. The game is usually held on Jan. 1, but the league is pushing it back a day as it did in 2012 to avoid going head-to-head with the NFL.
It will be the first outdoor game in Blues history. The Blackhawks will be playing in their third Winter Classic and fifth outdoor game.
Also Wednesday, the NHL said Toronto will host Detroit in the Centennial Classic on Jan. 1 at BMO Field to celebrate the league's 100th anniversary, and Pittsburgh will host Philadelphia on Feb. 18 at Heinz Field in the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. In another outdoor game, Winnipeg will host Edmonton in the Heritage Classic on Oct. 23 at Investors Group Field.
Islanders: Goalie Jaroslav Halak to miss six weeks
TORONTO -- The New York Islanders will be without starting goalie Jaroslav Halak for the next six weeks due to a lower body injury.
Halak left the Islanders' 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday night with 4:22 remaining with an apparent groin injury. New York coach Jack Capuano announced the expected length of the Halak's absence Wednesday before the team's game against the Maple Leafs.
NHL
Thomas Greiss, who finished the win over the Penguins to help Halak get his 200th career victory, will likely get the bulk of the starts the rest of the regular season and into the start of the playoffs, with No. 3 goalie Jean-Francois Berube backing him up.
"It's a big loss for our team," Capuano said. "Guys are going to get an opportunity now to step in and hopefully can do the job."
The Islanders are currently third in the Metropolitan Division, three points behind the second-place New York Rangers, and five points ahead of Pittsburgh, which holds the Eastern Conference's top wild-card spot.
Blackhawks: NHL won't punish Kane after rape allegation
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The NHL ruled that an offseason rape allegation made against Patrick Kane was unfounded in determining that the Chicago Blackhawks star forward will not face any league disciplinary action.
The decision was issued on Wednesday, when the league issued a one-paragraph statement announcing it had completed its independent review of the allegations against Kane. The final step of the investigation occurred on Monday, when Kane met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in New York.
"Based on its review, including the determination made by the Erie County District Attorney not to pursue charges, the NHL has concluded that the allegations made against Kane were unfounded," the NHL announced. "The league considers the matter closed and will have no further comment."
In November, following a three-month investigation, Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita ruled against pursuing charges against Kane by citing a lack of credible evidence in a case he found "rife with reasonable doubt." The accuser also signed an affidavit saying she did not want to press charges, prosecutors said.
The investigation began in August, when Kane was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s at his offseason home outside of Buffalo, New York.