The day has come. It’s the NHL Winter Classic to be played at historic Wrigley Field between the visiting St. Louis Blues and the local Chicago Blackhawks. This game is the big event in town to kick off New Year’s Eve.
These two teams met in the Winter Classic once before, when the Blues beat the Blackhawks 4-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
Each team extended their losing streaks in their final indoor games before the big outdoor event at Wrigley. The Blues come in with a 17-17-4 record, while the Hawks are 12-23-2. Despite being the lowest-ranked team, the Hawks would love to pull off the upset.
This is what the line combinations are projected to look like:
black hawks
Hall-Bedard-Bertuzzi
Foligno-Dickinson-Donato
Teravainen-Nazar-Mikheyev
Maroon-Reichel-Smith
Allan/Vlasic-Jones
Brodie-Kaiser
Martinez/Murphy-Crevier
Mrazek
Söderblom
It appears that Craig Smith will be ready to participate in the Winter Classic. However, it is unclear if Alec Martinez will play, as he is still considered day-to-day.
Connor Murphy did not practice at Wrigley Field, but it is said to be for maintenance. It looks like he’s going to participate in the big game.
Connor Bedard centering Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi is a great way to ensure the young center has what he needs to appear on the big stage.
Petr Mrazek will start for Chicago. This is his fifth outdoor game, but it will be his third time starting. After being a great number one on this team for a couple of years now, this is a well-deserved moment.
Blues
Saad-Thomas-Buchnevich
Holloway-Schenn-Kyrou
Neighbors-Sundqvist-Bolduc
Toropchenko-Walker-Texier
Fowler-Parayko
Broberg-Faulk
Suter-Tucker
Binnington
Hofer
Brandon Saad has played in a couple of them as a member of the Blackhawks. He will now play against them as a member of Les Bleus on the front line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.
St. Louis recently traded with the Anaheim Ducks to acquire Cam Fowler, who has been a top NHL defenseman for a long time. He will skate with his top pairing with Colton Parayko. This game will also be the 1,000th of Fowler’s career. That’s a great way to celebrate that milestone.
Jordan Binnington will start for the Blues. There will also be other good veterans playing opposite him like Justin Faulk and Ryan Suter. It’s the kind of game that players like this should be able to digest and enjoy without forgetting that there are two valuable points at stake.
How to watch
Fans in the United States can watch the game on TNT and stream it on MAX. In Canada, the game will be on Sportsnet.
Statistics
St. Louis Blues
2.61 goals per game
3.03 goals against per game
14.9% power play percentage
74.5 penalty percentage
Chicago Blackhawks-
2.51 goals per game
3.32 goals against per game
22.3 power play percentage
85.5 penalty percentage
The St. Louis Blues score more per game and give up fewer goals per game, but the Hawks have a clear advantage on special teams. If they want to win, they may want to stay out of the box while taking advantage of their power play opportunities.
The Winter Classic is a special event on the NHL calendar each year. No matter how many times it is done, it never gets old. This one, despite the state of each organization at the moment, promises to be just as good as the rest.
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