Tuesday’s Winter Classic was supposed to be Connor Bedard’s time to shine but St. Louis Blues defenseman Cam Fowler had a grand time.
The Blues defenseman had a big performance in his 1,000th career with two goals as St. Louis routed the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-2, at Wrigley Field. He’s the lone player in NHL history to reach that milestone in an outdoor game.
Fowler opened the scoring 100 seconds into the game and also scored in the final minutes of the second period for his second and third goals of the season. That gives him seven points in nine games since he was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in a Dec. 14 trade.
St. Louis’ Jordan Kyrou scored his third goal in two Winter Classics and Justin Faulk (three points), Dylan Holloway and Alexandre Texier also scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington had several impressive saves among his 28 stops.
Chicago got goals from Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi. Bedard, the 2023-24 rookie of the year and 2023 No. 1 overall pick, had a secondary assist in the third period when the game was out of reach.
‘Those tickets aren’t cheap for them to come and support us,’ Bedard told reporters, adding, ‘I feel bad for our fan base coming out to this and we kind of lay an egg.’
Highlights from the Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field:
Winter Classic final score: Blues win 6-2
The Blues improve to 3-0 at the Winter Classic while the Blackhawks fall to 0-5. St. Louis has outscored Chicago 10-3 in their two outdoor meetings.
Winter Classic score: Alexandre Texier makes it 6-2
Blues defenseman Justin Faulk picks up his third point of the game with an assist on Alexandre Texier’s goal at 16:18.
Winter Classic score: Tyler Bertuzzi gets power play goal
Tyler Bertuzzi fires in a shot from the left faceoff circle for the Blackhawks’ second power-play goal of the game. It’s 5-2 St. Louis. Connor Bedard gets the secondary assist for his first point of the game.
10 minutes left in game
Still 5-1 St. Louis. Blackhawks have only two shots in the period.
Cubs tradition at Wrigley Field hockey game
The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan plays the role of the late Harry Caray by singing, ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ in the third period. He shouts, ‘Let’s get some goals’ afterward.
Third penalty underway
5-1 Blues, but St. Louis’ Pavel Buchnevich is penalized 18 seconds in for tripping. The Blues kill it off.
End of second period: Blues 5, Blackhawks 1
St. Louis dominated the scoring with three goals. Chicago had 15 shots but Jordan Binnington made several tough saves. Blues defensemen have combined for three goals and two assists in the game. If the Blackhawks don’t stage a big comeback, they’ll fall to 0-5 at the Winter Classic.
Winter Classic fight: Nick Foligno vs. Brayden Schenn
As happens during a blowout, the game gets chippy. Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno and Blues captain Brayden Schenn drop the gloves off a faceoff and there’s some pushing and shoving later in the period.
Winter Classic score: Blues’ Cam Fowler scores again
He makes it 5-1 at 17:51 when his long wrist shot from the blue line floats past a screened Petr Mrazek. Another goal in his 1,000th career game.
Winter Classic score: Blues pulling away on Dylan Holloway goal
Dylan Holloway and Justin Faulk each pick up their second point of the game, when Holloway knocks in the rebound of a Faulk shot. He makes it 4-1 at 13:34 of the second period. The Blues landed Holloway last summer when St. Louis made offer sheets to Holloway and Philip Broberg and the Edmonton Oilers didn’t match. Holloway has seven points in his last four games.
Jordan Binnington make big save
Chicago’s Taylor Hall gets a breakaway after a Blues giveaway and Jordan Binnington robs him with a leg save.
Winter Classic score: Justin Faulk adds to Blues’ lead
The Blues score right off a faceoff win at 7:15 of the second period. Oskar Sundqvist wins the draw and Philip Broberg passes to Justin Faulk. His shot beats a screened Petr Mrazek for a 3-1 lead. It was the defenseman’s first goal since the second game of the season.
Blues on power play again
Taylor Hall, the Blackhawks’ goal scorer, is called for hooking Robert Thomas. Hall disagrees. Blues are 2-for-2 so far on the man advantage in this game. Make it 2-for-3 now. Thomas hits the post and the Blackhawks kill it off.
Second period underway
Score is 2-1 St. Louis.
End of first period: Blues 2, Blackhawks 1
Key to the second period: Stay out of the penalty box after three power-play goals were scored in the first period. St. Louis dominated play early but Chicago controlled play late and ended up with a 10-7 shot advantage. The light rain has stopped. Second period will start after a performance by Chance The Rapper.
Winter Classic score: Blackhawks’ Taylor Hall gets power-play goal
It’s looking like special teams will decide this game. Three power plays. Three power-play goals. Chicago’s Taylor Hall gets this one when a rebound of Ryan Donato’s shot comes to him in the right faceoff circle and he rips a shot past Jordan Binnington at 15:26. St. Louis’ lead is cut to 2-1.
Winter Classic score: Blues’ Jordan Kyrou scores on power play
The Blackhawks were short-handed again after Nolan Allan held Jordan Kyrou. Kyrou made them pay at 6:34 to make it 2-0. Kyrou set the Winter Classic record in 2022 with a four-point game. He’s up to five points now outdoors. Nice pass by Jake Neighbours. Score is 2-0 St. Louis.
Winter Classic score: Blues’ Cam Fowler gets goal in 1,000th game
Blues defenseman Cam Fowler opened the scoring with a power play goal at 1:40. Chicago’s Louis Crevier was in the penalty box for delay of game.
Fowler got to celebrate his milestone in an iconic setting because of a trade. He had played his first 991 games with the Anaheim Ducks but he was traded to the Blues on Dec. 14 for minor league defenseman Jeremie Biakabutuka and a 2027 second-round pick. He had a goal and four assists in his first eight games with the Blues and now has his second goal with the team.
Who sang the National Anthem?
The Blackhawks had Jim Cornelison, their usual anthem singer, perform at the Winter Classic.
Players take the ice for Winter Classic
The Blackhawks and Blues are taking the ice for the game while The Smashing Pumpkins perform ‘Tonight, Tonight.’ Chance The Rapper will perform during the intermission.
What time is the Winter Classic today?
The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will play at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. local time) on Tuesday, Dec. 31, at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The game is usually played on New Year’s Day, but there are three College Football Playoff quarterfinals on Jan. 1.
What channel is the Winter Classic on?
The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT and truTV. A pregame show will air at 4 p.m. ET.
Where to stream Winter Classic
The game can be streamed on Sling and on Max.
How have the Blackhawks, Blues fared in outdoor games?
The Blackhawks are 0-4 in the Winter Classic (2009, 2015, 2017 and 2019) and 1-1 in Stadium Series games. The Blues are 2-0 in the Winter Classic (2017, 2022), their only outdoor games.
Winter Classic coaches are in-season replacements
Neither coach was behind his respective bench at the start of the season. Chicago interim coach Anders Sorensen, the NHL’s first Swedish-born head coach, replaced Luke Richardson on Dec. 5. The Blues hired Jim Montgomery on Nov. 24 to replace Drew Bannister. Montgomery had been fired by the Boston Bruins five days earlier. He was the Bruins coach in the 2023 game in Fenway Park. It’s the first time the Winter Classic has featured two in-season replacement coaches.
Winter Classic weather update
There’s a light rain right now an hour before the start of the game. It might turn to snow.
Where is the next Winter Classic?
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said an announcement on the site of the next Winter Classic likely won’t happen until next week because not all of the agreements have been nailed down.
“It’s going to be unique. It’s going to be special, I promise that,’ he told NHL Network while standing under an umbrella to keep out of the rain. ‘People are going to think maybe we’ve lost our minds, but it’s going to be really good.”
Blues, Blackhawks players arrive: What they wore
The Blues and Blackhawks players showed up at Wrigley Field in coordinated clothes, in what’s becoming an outdoor game tradition. Here’s what they wore:
Blues players wore gray sweatshirts and ski caps with the No. 99 to honor Wayne Gretzky, the NHL all-time leading scorer who played for St. Louis for part of one season. He’s working the game broadcast as a TNT studio analyst.
Blackhawks players took the train to the game. They honored Chicago first responders on their sleeves and had the names of favorite charities on their hats. They carried their skates on their sticks.
Winter Classic projected starting goalies
Blackhawks’ Petr Mrazek: He’s 1-1 in outdoor games with a 3.55 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage. His 2024-25 numbers: 7-13-1, 3.09, .897.
Blues’ Jordan Binnington: He’s 1-0, winning the 2022 Winter Classic, with a 4.00 GAA and .879 save percentage. His 2024-25 numbers: 9-14-3, 2.93, .895.
Blues, Blackhawks played each other in Winter Classic before
The Blues beat the Blackhawks 4-1 in the 2017 Winter Classic at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
Winter Classic makes return trip to Wrigley Field
The Detroit Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 6-4 in the 2009 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs stadium is not the first repeat venue. The 2010 and 2023 games were held at Boston’s Fenway Park.
Winter Classic weather update
There’s a chance of snow showers leading up to and including the first period, though the weather will be cloudy later in the game. The forecast calls for 37 degrees at puck drop, with temperatures dropping to 35.
Winter Classic performers
The Smashing Pumpkins are scheduled to perform before the game and Chance The Rapper is scheduled to perform during the intermission.
Winter Classic odds, moneyline, over/under
Odds are from BetMGM
Spread: Blues -1.5
Moneyline: Blues -140, Blackhawks +120
Over/under: 5.5
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