One of the greatest traditions in all of sports returns on New Year’s Eve, as Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks play host to their division rivals in the St. Louis Blues in the NHL’s 16th Winter Classic. The Blackhawks are no strangers to playing outdoors, with this game putting them at the top of the list for most Winter Classic appearances with five. As for the Blues, they will be playing in their third Winter Classic respectfully and this face off of historic rivals is the perfect fit to match the historic backdrop of Wrigley Field where the game will take place.

This would be the second time in Winter Classic history where the Hawks and Blues matchup in the annual outdoor game, with the first meeting coming back in 2017 when the Blues hosted the event at Busch Stadium. St. Louis topped the Blackhawks in that game, winning 4-1 and giving the Blues their first ever win in an outdoor contest. Chicago on the other hand doesn’t have a good track record playing outside, entering this game with an 0-4 record in Winter Classics, including the second ever Winter Classic where the Hawks hosted at Wrigley Field for the first time and lost 6-4 to the defending champions at the time in the Detroit Red Wings.

Both teams currently are sitting well at the bottom of the central division, with Chicago having the least amount of points in the entire NHL. This Winter Classic game is all about having one of the oldest and most historic teams in league history getting to show off their heritage with throwback uniforms and play in one of the greatest venues in pro sports. St. Louis would try to extend their perfect record in outdoor games to 3-0, while Chicago would look to snap their cold streak and ring in the new year with a big win against one of their oldest rivals.

Puck drop was scheduled earlier than a standard game would, with the Winter Classic beginning at 5pm instead of the usual 7pm to accommodate for the new year festivities that would take place later that evening. St. Louis dominated the entire game with Cam Fowler scoring twice in what would be his 1,000th career NHL game. The Blues finished the day with a 6-2 victory over the Hawks and kept their perfect Winter Classic record in tact. As for Chicago, they move to 0-5 in outdoor games and Connor Bedard had some words about the teams performance after the game. Bedard spoke about how tickets to this game were not cheap and that fans spent too much hard earned time and money for the team to lay such a big “goose egg.”

This track record of losing games in hard fashion has been quite familiar for the Blackhawks as of late, recently being handed a 6-2 defeat to the Sabres who have also been in a terrible struggle to string together wins this season. Chicago will certainly need to go back to the drawing board in the new year in order to turn their season around, while the Blues celebrate their new year in style.