Blackhawks’ Crawford, Raanta show off Winter Classic masks

One of the greatest parts of the Winter Classic is the unique look the teams take on. With this year’s outdoor game just days away, we get our first peek at the goalie masks for Corey Crawford and Antti Raanta.

For lovers of goalie masks, Christmas came a little bit later. On Tuesday, Chicago Blackhawks goaltenders

Corey Crawford and

Antti Raanta gave fans a first look at their masks for the upcoming Winter Classic. Both masks pay a bit of an homage to the Blackhawks history, while also incorporating parts of Chicago or thematic nods to the Winter Classic itself.

Crawford’s, which can be seen on the left side (and a larger version

here), almost looks a bit like that of former Blackhawks netminder Jeff Hackett. However, instead of the nickname on the mask’s chin, Crawford’s features numbering similar to that which will appear on Chicago’s duds for the outdoor game. In addition, the side panel has the logo from the then Black Hawks wore from 1957 to 1965. On the right side is Raanta’s mask (larger version

here). Chicago’s backup netminder’s new lid features the logo worn from 1941 until 1955. However, the slight monochromatic change has been made to give that logo a slightly different feel and stay more in line with the masks entire theme. The snowflakes and calligraphic script are nice touches, while the Chicago skyline makes an appearance on the crown of the mask. Earlier this week, Washington Capitals backup netminder

Justin Peters also showed off his new mask. Peters went with David Gunnarsson of DaveArt,

as did Capitals starter Braden Holtby. With his masks almost always featuring a dog, Peters stuck with the theme, this time putting the dog inside a “Dawg” house, a nice tip of the cap to his nickname, ‘Pete-Dawg.’