On a rainy Saturday at Wrigley Field, The St. Louis Blues rolled past the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Winter Classic, 6-2. The Blues lit up the scoreboard, and that outburst of offense came from the defense.
The St. Louis defensemen got things started early when Cam Fowler scored a power play goal just 1:40 into the game. Fowler was left all alone in the high slot, and he had all day to bury a wrist shot behind Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek.
That was a big goal to get things going for the Blues, but it was also a big goal for Fowler, who skated in his 1,000th career NHL game.
Cam Fowler opens the scoring at the #WinterClassic in his 1000th game‼️ pic.twitter.com/SnVUCBopJU
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 31, 2024
Fowler's special day didn't end there. He put a seeing-eye shot through traffic that found its way past Mrazek for his second of the day in the second period. In just his ninth game as a member of the Blues, Fowler scored his third goal with the franchise.
CAM FOWLER AGAIN 🤯 #WinterClassic
— NHL (@NHL) January 1, 2025
🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/rwtqe41WhJ
While Fowler was the story of the game, he had plenty of help creating offense from the blue line. Teammate Justin Faulk contributed a goal and two assists, and his tally came as the result of a gorgeous set play following an offensive zone face-off.
Faulk took a feed from fellow defenseman Philip Broberg and rifled it by Mrazek.
A rocket from Justin Faulk!!! 🚀@StLouisBlues | #stlblues | #WinterClassic
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 31, 2024
pic.twitter.com/uLxu76WZVQ
When the St. Louis defense wasn't wreaking havoc in the Chicago zone, Jordan Binnington was handling things in goal for the Blues. He stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced, and his best save came in the second period when he absolutely robbed Taylor Hall on a partial breakaway.
Binnington went for the pokecheck and missed, but he was able to throw out his right pad and make a spectacular stop to keep the St. Louis lead at 3-1.
BIG STOP! 🛑
— NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2024
Jordan Binnington stretches out to make the save! #WinterClassic
🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/EukxIvWWaz
The Blues didn't give the Blackhawks fans much to cheer about at Wrigley Field as they controlled the game from start to finish. Jordan Kyrou, Alex Texier and Dylan Holloway had the other three tallies for the visiting club.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Taylor Hall scored for Chicago, but the home team couldn't muster much more than that. This is now the second time the Blackhawks have lost at Wrigley Field with the first defeat coming against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.