NHL ups tracking technology for 2nd 'Big City Greens Classic' - ESPN

The NHL is returning to «Big City Greens,» this time using two types of puck and player tracking technology to bring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins into the animated world.

The second «NHL Big City Greens Classic» will air March 9 on ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ when the Penguins visit the Bruins at 3 p.m. ET. The broadcast is a real-time volumetric animation of NHL players and teams modeled after characters on Disney Channel's animated comedy «Big City Greens,» whose characters skate alongside animated versions of the NHL players.

The game at TD Garden will be re-created in a virtual environment, featuring 3D animated players whose movements are synced with the real-life Penguins and Bruins.

The traditional game telecast will be available on ABC and ESPN+.

Last season's game featuring the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers was the first of its kind, as fans watched characters Cricket, Tilly and Gramma and a chicken referee create a unique alternative viewing experience.

«We learned a lot from last year, and thankfully it was pretty much all good,» said David Lehanski, the NHL's executive VP for business development and innovation. «The whole point of this is to bring the game to a new audience. The composition of the audience from the data that we got proves that it worked.»

The most notable data point, Lehanski said, was that while NHL viewership typically skews 60% male, the «Big City Greens Classic» flipped that to 60% female. He also said the number of viewers who watched the full game, or later watched it on video on demand, was in «the hundreds of thousands,» meaning the game had staying power during and beyond the initial broadcast.

The big innovation for this edition of the «Big