Blackhawks lose, 6-2, to Blues at Wrigley Field -- their 6th defeat in 7 Winter Classics

Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune on Dec 31, 2024

Published in Hockey

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CHICAGO — There’s still no joy in Wrigleyville, at least where the Chicago Blackhawks are concerned.

The Hawks lost their sixth of seven Winter Classics on Tuesday — and their second at Wrigley Field — suffering a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.

Another longtime rival, the Detroit Red Wings, had dealt the Hawks a 6-4 loss in the first Classic at Wrigley on Jan 1, 2009.

The four-goal margin Tuesday made for the Hawks’ worst-ever Winter Classic loss, topping a 4-1 loss at Busch Stadium on Jan. 2, 2017 — again to the Blues.

It’s the Hawks’ second-worst loss in an outdoor game: Only a 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Feb 21, 2016, eclipsed it.

The start of Tuesday’s game took on the feel of 1924 rather than 2024, with Hawks players sauntering out of the Cubs’ dugout in vintage-brown leather gloves and Blues skaters zipping around the ice during warmups in cream-colored sweaters.

But the Hawks’ present-day problems ripped them right back into the here and now.

With the world watching the NHL’s midseason marketing showcase — 40,933 in attendance at the 110-year-old ballpark — the Hawks started off ice cold, quite fitting for the nippy outdoor rink, falling behind 2-0 to the Blues to start the Classic.

Young Hawks defensemen Louis Crevier and Nolan Allan committed delay of game and holding penalties, respectively, and the Blues didn’t waste those power plays.

Cam Fowler, the first player in NHL history to skate outdoors for his 1,000th career game, opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game. He ripped a beauty down the slot and skated toward the glass on a one-legged celly, thrusting his arms upward.

Pavel Buchnevich threaded the low-to-high setup past Seth Jones for the assist.

Fowler became the league’s seventh player to score in the first 100 seconds of an outdoor game, according to NHL Stats.

On the second power play, Jordan Kyrou hit Petr Mrázek back door off Jake Neighbours’ feed.

Chants of “Let’s go Blues!” rang out at Wrigley — and not of the Cubbie blue variety.

Two straight power-play goals were uncharacteristic of a Hawks penalty kill.

The Blues took a 7-1 shot-on-goal lead, but the Hawks clawed back.

Pat Maroon drew an interference penalty on Philip Broberg, setting up the Hawks’ first power play.

Ryan Donato blasted a shot down the middle that bounced to Taylor Hall, but he sent it back on the rope to put the Hawks on the board, 2-1.

Hall was mobbed by teammates by the half-wall, but there were no fans to bang on the glass like there would’ve been at the United Center.

Early in the second period, on a Blues power play, Jason Dickinson set his sights on goalie Jordan Binnington on a short-handed breakaway but missed high and wide right.

As frustrating as that missed opportunity had to be, Justin Faulk’s snipe to make it 3-1 had to be even more agonizing: It came off a faceoff before the Hawks D had a chance to get set.

Dylan Holloway scored to pad St. Louis’ lead, and Fowler’s goal with 2 minutes and 9 seconds left in the second period turned the game into an unsightly slaughter for such a scenic venue.

It also made Fowler the first defenseman in NHL history to score twice in an outdoor game.

After the next faceoff, Nick Foligno started a fight with Brayden Schenn to juice up his team, then walked off to the dugout to applause as the second period was set to expire before his penalty for fighting did.

There’s no punching their way out of the mixed bag that has marked the Hawks’ recent malaise.

They’ve lost five straight games and the last three by four-goal margins. In some games, they’ve scored early, even first, but find themselves playing catch-up in the third period.

Tyler Bertuzzi temporarily made the score a more respectable 5-2 in the third, but Alexandre Texier flipped up a loose puck while Mrázek was occupied in traffic to make it 6-2.