ST LOUIS – The NHL’s 2017 Winter Classic was threatened with inclement weather most of the morning ahead of the opening face off Monday.
But, while the clouds did not part they certainly stopped shedding rain in time for a glorious exhibition of the outdoor hockey between the Chicago Blackhawks and the host St Louis Blues.
“All things considered, we lucked out with the weather,” Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “The ice was a little bumpy and it was a little slow. But really, for us, it was fine. That’s something we just adjust to and we simplified our game and I think that’s why we were so effective out there tonight. Especially after all the warnings and what we thought was coming, we were pretty lucky to be able to get that game in.”
After tightly contested 40 minutes of play, with both teams skating to a 1-1 tie, the Blues opened up the scoring in the third on two goals from Vladimir Tarasenko to break it open.
“I don’t know about [my teammates], but it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve been a part of,” Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo said.
Michal Kempny opened the scoring in the game with a fist period goal to put the Hawks up 1-0.
Patrik Berglund tied it 1-1 with a second period marker.
Jake Allen made 22 saves to get the win for the Blues who were hosting and playing in their first outdoor game.
Alexander Steen sealed the final with a empty-net goal.
“I was proud of our group. I was proud of our game. It’s easy to get distracted in events like this, especially when it’s your first one, and our group played really well. I thought our passing game and the way that we supported each other throughout the game was as good as it’s been all year,” Steen said after the Classic.
Corey Crawford made 31 saves in the loss for Chicago.
“He played great. I thought he handled the puck around the net well. There was a lot of unpredictability with the new boards and glass and different background,” Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said of Crawford. “I thought he did great job around the net and handled the puck and moved it. And those things happen; he did what he had to did and we got a bounce, fortunate bounce in our first goal too, but things … he did everything he could to get us a point or two.”
Patrik Berglund
Photo by: Brianna O’Hara
Photo by: Brianna O’Hara
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