Blues hope Winter Classic win against Blackhawks provides spark

CHICAGO -- After thriving again in one of the NHL’s marquee events, the St. Louis Blues are hoping that a 6-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Discover NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on Tuesday can be a springboard for a big second half of the season.

The Blues (18-17-4) are 3-0-0 in Winter Classic games, defeating Blackhawks 4-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in 2017 and the Minnesota Wild 6-4 at Target Field in Minneapolis in 2022. For a team that has lacked consistency through 39 games, St. Louis will take any momentum in can get from winning outdoors for its third victory in its past four games.

"Yeah, even the game (Sunday) against Buffalo (a 4-2 loss in which the Blues had a 37-16 edge in shots), the last four games we've been playing well," said forward Jake Neighbours, who had an assist on Tuesday. "It feels like we're building something. The offense is starting to score a little bit more. That stuff's nice. You want to just take that feeling and ride with it and try to get on a little bit of a roll here."

On Tuesday, St. Louis started fast, with Cam Fowler scoring a power-play goal at 1:40 of the first period and Jordan Kyrou adding another at 8:10 for a 2-0 lead. The Blues opened up a 5-1 lead late in the second period.

The Blues, who are 9-5-3 in 17 games since Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as coach on Nov. 24, are 3-1-1 their past five but know they need a more sustained run. They trail the Calgary Flames by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference but have played two more games.

"We have to focus on winning hockey games," captain Brayden Schenn said, "because at the end of the day, when you look at the standings, these two points matter. The experience is one thing. You've got to play the hockey game, play the right way and hopefully come out on top."

The St. Louis players were to spend the rest of New Year's Eve in Chicago with their families before getting back to a normal routine, likely beginning with a practice Thursday, then back-to-back games Friday at home against the Ottawa Senators and Saturday at the Columbus Blue Jackets. Montgomery would like this game on a big stage to be something his team can build on.

"I hope playing the right way for 60 minutes and scoring goals, because we're playing the right way, will lead us to be a little more consistent," Montgomery said. "I'm glad we're not playing for a couple days because this is an emotional high. I know it's just two points like all the other two points, but this is not the same kind of game emotionally. So I'm glad we're not playing tomorrow or even in two days, but for our group right now, we've got to start pushing.

“We have a lot of games at home here in January and February if we want to make a run at the playoffs. Our consistency and belief in our identity has to start showing game in, game out."