CHICAGO – St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery walked around before Tuesday night's Winter Classic. He looked at the growing crowd soaking in the festive atmosphere. He thought about all the famous ballplayers who played at Wrigley Field.
“And here we are getting to play an NHL hockey game,” Montgomery said. “It's just really cool.”
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The Winter Classic returned to Wrigley on the final day of 2024, and the Chicago Blackhawks threw quite a party. Fireworks streaked through the night sky at the home of baseball's Chicago Cubs. The Smashing Pumpkins and Chance the Rapper performed, and actors Bill Murray and Jon Hamm got a big ovation when they were shown on a videoboard during the third period.
It was a very Chicago party, and St. Louis had all the fun. The Blues rolled to a 6-2 victory over the Blackhawks in front of a crowd of 40,933, improving to 3-0 in the Winter Classic.
“This was an amazing experience for the fans and just for us, too," St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn said. “Having family and friends here to experience something like that at Wrigley Field, an amazing thing, and then winning on top of it.”
Just a couple weeks after he was acquired by St. Louis in a trade with Anaheim, Cam Fowler celebrated his 1,000th NHL game with two goals. The 33-year-old defenseman became the first player in NHL history to skate outdoors for his 1,000th game.
The night — the confluence of events that put Fowler in that moment after spending his entire career with the Ducks — was “pretty surreal,” he said.
“Going through a lot of emotions the last few weeks getting adjusted to a new team,” he said. “But couldn't have asked for anything more for this experience, getting to share it with my family. ... It was an awesome night for all of us.”
Not so much for the lowly Blackhawks. It was a much different scene in the home clubhouse, where Chicago was searching for answers after its fifth consecutive loss.
Backed by the majority of a raucous crowd, the Blackhawks got off to a slow start and the Blues pulled away with three goals in the second period. There were loud chants of “Let's go Blues!” in the final seconds of the game.
“You know, those tickets aren’t cheap for them to come and support us,” Chicago forward Connor Bedard said. “We, obviously, in our room are disappointed with ourselves. But I feel bad for our fan base coming out to this and we kind of lay an egg.”
The day began with Bedard and the Blackhawks — carrying their sticks and skates and dressed in custom “Team Chicago” gear — using one of the city's famed elevated trains to travel to Wrigley.
The team's pregame apparel was designed to highlight the connection between the franchise and the city. The clothes had patches paying tribute to Chicago’s first responders, and each player picked a charitable or community-based organization for their hat.
“It’s a neat thing to bring our community together, right?” captain Nick Foligno said. “And one of the big things we talked about was our first responders, too, and what they mean to our community and what they do for us. And we wanted to kind of highlight that and also highlight what means a lot to us.”
St. Louis dressed in gray sweatshirts and hats for its bus trip to the ballpark. The hats had 99 on the front and the shirts had a round emblem with 99 and GRETZKY'S BASEMENT — a nod to the hockey school connected to Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.
“We just thought it would be a great opportunity to honor Wayne and everything he’s done for the game," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. "He’s obviously an integral part in St. Louis, too. He’s done a lot for the community there and still does, and he’s great to everyone in the organization and the guys and we thought there’s no better way to show our appreciation than to do this today for him.”
The Blues occupied the visitor's clubhouse at Wrigley, which meant they had to navigate a long stairway on their way to and from the ice. Like they usually do when they play outdoors, they made the most of the situation.
“Just had to take your time,” goaltender Jordan Binnington said with a grin. “It kind of helped me focus for the game. Just one step at a time. We talk about that a lot and I was really taking it one step at a time because I did not want to go down.”
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