Photo: Sabres.com

The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced  the  Buffalo  Sabres  and  Pittsburgh Penguins will wear vintage jerseys  during  the  AMP  Energy  NHL  Winter  Classic, the League’s first regular-season outdoor game in the United States.

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Video: Winter Classic Press Conf.

Buffalo  will  wear  the white version of the jersey worn by the club from  1978-79 through 1995-96, which features the familiar circular logo of the  charging  buffalo  over  crossed sabers. Pittsburgh will return to the powder  blue  version  worn  from  1968-69 through 1972-73.  This marks the first  time the Penguins will wear powder blue since switching to black and gold in 1980.  Both jerseys will be made of Rbk EDGE performance materials.

“The  Amp  Energy NHL Winter Classic is a great celebration of hockey returning  to  its  origins,” said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President Marketing,  NHL.  “Wearing  vintage  jerseys  for  this historic event is a unique  way  to  pay  tribute  to  years  past while acknowledging the rich history of the NHL and its clubs.”

"The  Penguins  are  proud  to honor our history and heritage in this unique  Winter Classic game,” said Pittsburgh Penguins team President David Morehouse.  “We  think it will be a great opportunity for our young players such  as  Sidney  Crosby  and Evgeni Malkin to wear these blue uniforms and establish a link with our teams of the 1960s and 70s."

"Wearing the classic white jersey is the perfect fit for a classic outdoor game," said Buffalo Sabres Managing Partner, Larry Quinn. "Our future retro jersey will be the dark blue sweater, so this maybe one of the last times our team wears this jersey. One more historic footnote to the game."

The  Winter  Classic  Vintage edition jerseys for both Pittsburgh and Buffalo are available now for purchase in replica form on Shop.NHL.com.

The  AMP  Energy  NHL  Winter  Classic will be played at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills on New Year’s
Day,  2008.   NBC will provide live broadcast coverage of the historic game
in  the  U.S.  In  Canada, CBC and RDS will televise the event live.  Radio listeners can hear live coverage of the game on all Westwood One affiliates across the U.S. and Canada as well as on XM satellite radio (channel 204).

AMP  Energy is the official energy drink of the NHL and title sponsor of the event.