Blues treating Winter Classic as 'business trip'

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues were hoping to enter the Discover NHL Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on Tuesday (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS) with some momentum.

But the Blues will head to Chicago coming off a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at home on Sunday, a loss in which their special teams (0-for-4 on the power play, 1-for-3 on the penalty kill) proved to be their downfall.

Despite that, St. Louis (17-17-4) knows it must turn the page quickly with one of the League's marquee events only two days away.

"This is a special time just for the whole organization, families, everyone going to go check it out. The whole hockey world, you have the attention of it," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "Just spending time with family, but most importantly, playing the game, playing outdoors. It’s a special time to live a childhood dream, playing in front of a lot of fans and a historic stadium. We feel very honored to be one of the teams chosen to play."

The event should be even more special for Schenn, who did not play for the Blues in the Winter Classic in 2022 (a 6-4 win against the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in Minneapolis) because of an upper-body injury.

"Yeah absolutely. It always stinks sitting out, watching your team play," Schenn said. "(It's) kind of those moments you look back on your career; those are cool moments you want to be a part of. I’ve been fortunate and lucky to play in the Winter Classic and a Stadium Series outdoor game (with the Philadelphia Flyers). This is a chance to go out there and have some fun and enjoy the whole experience with family."

This year's edition, the first to be played on New Year's Eve, will be the third Winter Classic for the Blues. Along with their win against the Wild in 2022, they also faced the Blackhawks in 2017, winning 4-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

"I can’t say it’s going to remind me of when I was growing up playing hockey outside," said Blues forward Nathan Walker, who will be the first Australian to play in the Winter Classic. "It’s going to be a good experience. Obviously, we’re going there for a business trip. It’s not fun. We’re going to try to get the two points out of there.

"You just take it in. Obviously, the first time you step on the ice you’re going to see a huge baseball stadium full of people, and you take that in. But aside from that, it is a business trip for us."

That's the mindset Blues coach Jim Montgomery has as well after the loss to the Sabres.

"I’m not going to worry about what’s happened," Montgomery said. "Let’s move on to the Winter Classic and let’s start winning games so that we get our fans back here and excited with the product that we’re putting in front of them. We gave them lots to cheer about tonight, but we just didn’t manage the game well. We’ve got to finish these games off."