CHICAGO -- During the 18-minute intermissions, every Blues player stood at the base of the visitor's dugout and could stare up at their newest adversary: 49 stairs that led to the St. Louis dressing room.
And for goaltender Jordan Binnington? Well, his pads added a little extra weight.
"Just felt like it was a mountain, climbing a mountain every intermission," Binnington said with a smile. "It honestly wasn't as hard as I expected. Just had to take your time. It kind of helped me focus for the game, just one step at a time. We talk about that a lot, and I was really taking it one step at a time because I did not want to go down."
Binnington's off-ice focus translated to on-ice success, as he made 28 saves in backstopping the Blues to a 6-2 win over the Blackhawks in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. With the win, Binnington became one of just eight goaltenders to win multiple outdoor games. Only Henrik Lundqvist (4) and Craig Anderson (3) have more outdoor wins than Binnington's pair.
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In particular, Binnington came up big in the second period, stopping all 15 Chicago shots he faced as the Blues turned a 2-1 game into a 5-1 laugher.
"Binner in the second period for the first maybe 12 minutes had to make too many good saves for our liking," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "But we were able to get through that and extend our lead, which is a good sign for a team that's learning how to win."
Binnington's biggest save of the night came with 7:10 remaining in the second period, a sprawling right pad save on Taylor Hall after Colton Parayko and Cam Fowler combined to turn over the puck deep in the Blues zone. Hall tried to stuff the puck on his forehand, but Binnington stretched out to make the save.
Less than a minute later, Dylan Holloway scored to give the Blues a 4-1 lead.
"That happens and that's hockey right there," Binnington said. "I feel like the last couple games, it's maybe happened the other way around."
Blues forward Jordan Kyrou: "Unbelievable save. I think he made a couple other really nice saves, too, today. That just changes the game right there. Instead, we (keep) the lead and just take it away from there."
In the scope of the Blues' regular season, Tuesday's result was a needed one for Binnington. It was just his second win in his last eight games. His 28 saves were the most for him since he made 35 in dragging a point out of Dallas on Dec. 14.
Schenn's choice
Blues captain Brayden Schenn did it for the memories.
No, really. The allure of owning a memory of fighting in front of 40,933 fans at Wrigley Field was too much for Schenn to pass up. So after the Blues took a 5-1 lead on Fowler's second goal of the evening, Schenn challenged Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno to a fight at center ice.
"It was more so one of those things to look back on your career and you're fighting at Wrigley against a tough customer," Schenn said. "Really no rhyme or reason for it. He's a heck of a player. I know he's a heck of a teammate from what everyone's told me. Just asked him, and I'll have that memory forever. He definitely hit me with a few, and on the losing end of it. But, hey, showed up."
From the outside, it appeared that Foligno was the one that challenged Schenn. After all, his team was down four goals and Wrigley Field had lost much of the atmosphere created by Blackhawks fans before the game. But it was Schenn who asked Foligno for the bout.
The TNT broadcast also showed Schenn and Foligno chatting during warmup to arrange a postgame handshake, as is customary for outdoor games. And the two captains participated in the pregame ceremonial puck drop. About two hour later, they were dropping the gloves.
Batting the elements
The Blues and Blackhawks each dealt with rain during the first period, a consistent rainfall that was heavy enough to be seen in the stadium lights, but light enough not to stop play on the ice. That doesn't mean it didn't impact it, though.
"After the first, it wasn't too bad," Kyrou said. "Before the game (for) warmups and then the first period, it was raining a little bit and the ice wasn't great. Definitely wasn't as bad as the last Winter Classic I was in. That was like minus-20 or something, so much snow, so that was way worse."
The last Winter Classic that Kyrou and the Blues played in was in 2022 in Minnesota, where the game-time temperature was minus-6 degrees, the coldest in NHL history. On Tuesday, it was 38 degrees at puck drop.
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