Blues pile outdoor misery on Blackhawks as St. Louis beats Chicago 6-2 in NHL’s Winter Classic
By David Close, CNN
(CNN) — The Chicago Blackhawks would likely prefer to play indoors, thank you very much. The storied franchise is winless in all five of the NHL’s showcase Winter Classic events they have played in.
On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues and superfan, famed Hollywood actor Jon Hamm, would be OK playing without a roof overhead after dismantling the home team 6-2 on New Year’s Eve.
Hamm, who certainly wasn’t mad watching his beloved Blues score four more than the Blackhawks, appeared on CNN immediately after the game with a huge smile as he stood next to the rink built within Chicago’s National Historic Landmark Wrigley Field.
“We won! We scored early and often and thoroughly dominated and it was excellent,” Hamm told CNN while wearing his trusted, old Blues cap.
Hamm was recently asked about his cherished hockey team and his weathered, nearly 30-year-old music note logoed hat while appearing as a guest on “TNT on NHL.”
“It’s got a few miles on the odometer but it has brought us a little bit of luck,” Hamm said previously of the tattered, formerly blue-colored lid that now appears “greasy gray.”
Hamm said he planned to enjoy the night in Chicago after the Blues notched another win for the headgear.
Cam Fowler shined on a night he will never forget
The puck dropped on the first-ever New Year’s Eve NHL Winter Classic with some less than desirable weather – a steady drizzle with 37 degrees Fahrenheit temps meeting the players at the rink.
Within two minutes of the game’s start, Blues defenseman Cam Fowler scored the opener to give St. Louis the early 1-0 lead on a power play goal. The tally was a big one for the veteran D-man. The goal marked just his second goal on the season but highlighted his 1000th NHL game played. Fowler, appearing in just his ninth game as a Blues player after playing 991 times with the Anaheim Ducks, was all smiles on the bench as a teammate fished the historic puck out of Chicago goalie Petr Mrázek’s net.
Fowler was asked about the moment on the TNT broadcast during the first intermission.
“It’s an amazing experience. Obviously, getting to share it with my family and my friends and to get on the board early for the team too, you couldn’t draw it up any better,” he said.
He wasn’t done with one snipe.
In the second period, Fowler sent a seeing-eye shot from the point that went through several bodies and found the top shelf of the net. Mrázek never saw the puck. The second goal put an exclamation point on the day Fowler hit the 1,000 games played mark.
Blackhawks fans watch visiting Blues shine at Wrigley
Chicagoans have rarely been able to fully celebrate the team’s outdoor games of the past as their hockey team has yet to win a Winter Classic, having lost all four the team had played in over the years coming into Tuesday.
After Fowler’s first, the Blues struck again nearly mid-way through the opening period with another power play strike. St. Louis worked the puck around the Blackhawks’ defense, culminating with Jordan Kyrou converting into a nearly empty net to make it 2-0. Kyrou appears to like playing in the elements as he recorded four points in the 2022 Winter Classic win over the Minnesota Wild.
Blackhawks’ forward Taylor Hall answered for the Wrigley faithful to cut the lead in half, scoring off a big rebound on a power play to make it 2-1 Blues.
The second period was a tighter affair as both teams looked to have made adjustments during the first intermission. However, St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk one-timed a slapshot past Mrázek at 7:15 for the 3-1 Blues lead.
Chicago had a glimpse of a reply when, after a Chicago giveaway, Blues goalie Jordan Binnington made a spectacular save to stave off another Blackhawks goal. After a Taylor Hall deke, Binnington needed to pull off a split to stuff the attempt with his right pad.
Moments later, the Blues upped the lead to 4-1. St. Louis worked the puck around their attacking zone to create room for another Faulk blast, which rang off the right post and straight to Dylan Holloway for the rebound goal.
Fowler’s second goal and the sound of the second intermission horn brought out some boobirds from Blackhawks fans.
Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan sang the traditional “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the break, mimicking the singing of the tune during the seventh-inning stretch at every Chicago Cubs home game. “Let’s get some goals,” Corgan shouted to hopefully inspire the home team to a comeback in the third period.
It may have initially worked as Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi scored a power play wrister to cut the score to 5-2 Blues.
But St. Louis wasn’t interested in a New Year’s Eve miracle and converted another rebound via Alexandre Texier to finish the scoring.
The NHL said 40,933 were in attendance, the league’s second sellout at Wrigley, which also hosted the 2009 edition.
2026 Winter Classic?
When speaking to CNN’s Coy Wire ahead of the game, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman highlighted how special it was to host the marquee event in unique locations.
“When we go to iconic places like Wrigley Field, and we dress them up and turn them into a hockey venue, it’s really special for us, for the players and most importantly for the fans,” Bettman said while noting Tuesday’s event was the NHL’s 42nd outdoor game.
As for the next edition, Bettman told the NHL on TNT crew that an announcement would be made soon and would be a surprise.
Commissioner Gary Bettman teased next year’s event location during TNT Sports’ pregame show. “Next week, give or take. It’s going to be a little unusual. It’s going to be a little more unique – some people will think we’ve lost our minds. But we aren’t ready to announce it but we will soon, and it’s going to be good.”
TNT is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns CNN.
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