Canadiens' Condon goes from nosebleeds to crease at Gillette Stadium

Mike Condon's new view is a lot better.

The Montreal Canadiens' backup goaltender, carrying most of the load until Carey Price returns from injury, will make what turns out to be a very special start in Friday's Winter Classic.

While it's certainly not any old road game for the Canadiens, it's a home game of sorts for Condon as the Boston Bruins host Montreal at Gillette Stadium - a short drive from where Condon grew up, and where he sat in the nosebleeds rooting for the New England Patriots.

"Usually when I'm at Gillette Stadium, I'm in the last row ... but it's kind of nice to be back on the main level," Condon said Thursday, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "You're up there and now you're down here, so it puts things in perspective."

Condon knows about perspective. After four years at Princeton University, Condon found himself in the East Coast Hockey League, the American Hockey League, back in the ECHL, back in the AHL, and finally in the NHL at 25.

He'll have a number of family and friends in the crowd during the game, and his father, a state police officer, will treat Friday morning like a Sunday - he'll tailgate outside the stadium before the puck drops, enjoying his day off.

Condon's father actually escorted the Canadiens' bus into the stadium Thursday, a thrill for all the Condons.

"It's always good to have that family support here," Condon said. "(My father's) had a big impact on my life and I am really happy to have him there."

Condon will make his 23rd start - though it'll certainly be a bit different outside, at home, in a football stadium. He's 10-9-3 with a .904 save percentage.

"It's an honor for me to go out there," he said. "But at the end of the day, it's just another game, another two points."

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