St Louis coach Jim Montgomery walked around before Tuesday night’s Winter Classic, looked at the growing crowd soaking in the festive atmosphere and 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.”
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.
Photo: AP
It was a very Chicago party, but St Louis had all the fun, as 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.
Photo: AFP
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... 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 their fifth consecutive loss.
Photo: AFP
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.
“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.”
Also on Tuesday, the Washington Capitals beat the Boston Bruins 3-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs upset the New York Islanders 3-1, the Montreal Canadiens survived the Las Vegas Golden Knights 3-2, the Dallas Stars topped the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 and the Minnesota Wild outplayed the Nashville Predators 5-3.
The Columbus Blue Jackets edged the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shoot-out, the Colorado Avalanche crushed the Winnipeg Jets 5-2, the Detroit Red Wings overpowered the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2, the Edmonton Oilers defeated Utah Hockey Club 4-1, the Anaheim Ducks pipped the New Jersey Devils 3-2, the Calgary Flames burned the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 and the Philadelphia Flyers blanked the San Jose Sharks 4-0.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their