There was no way Blues were losing Winter Classic, not after showing up the way they did

Braving below-zero elements, Blues show up for NHL's 2022 showcase outdoor 

game in beach wear, go out and beat Wild 6-4 behind Kyrou's four-point game 

By LOU KORAC
MINNEAPOLIS -- There was no way the Blues were losing this game, right?

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Blues players Colton Parayko (left) and Marco Scandella arrive wearing light

clothing in sub-zero weather for their Winter Classic matchup in Minnesota.

Not after the way they left the hotel, got on the bus, exited the bus and entered Target Field on Saturday night for the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic.

With temperatures frigid below zero, with the temperature being officially minus-5.7 at puck drop against the Minnesota Wild, you figure the Blues would go with the usual business-like approach, suits, ties, proper attire players normally show up for at the arena.

But since this is a spectacle game, perhaps some more layers would have been proper, with team logos and insignias front and center.

Uhh, try again. The Blues went bold ... really bold.

When players funneled into vision, the Blues were dressed like they were going to the beach. Maybe in Florida or California that would be acceptable on Jan. 1, but in Minnesota, when temperatures reached minus-10 during the game? Are you crazy?

Marco Scandella was in flip flops, unbuttoned shirt and a cooler in hand; Jake Walman was shirtless, with scarf tying him down, in flip-flops, which all players wore. It was amazing. 

Well, it was bold, it was ballsy, it was the winning attire.

The Blues were perfect for 40 minutes, bent in the third, but behind Jordan Kyrou's record-breaking four-point game (two goals, two assists) in an outdoor game, the Blues took down the Wild 6-4 before 38,619 brave spectators, many of them Blues fans.

The Blues (19-9-5) received attention from the league on the props among many that gravitated towards the attention. When Spittin Chicklets takes notice, it's special. It's meaningful. It's bold.

"We knew it was a bold move, but we kind of went all-in," Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said. "We had fun with it. 

"I think it was something we figured when we're 50 years old looking back, are you going to want to see yourself getting off the bus in a suit or something funny like that and you can laugh about it and have some good pictures to look back on? I think 'O'Ry' kind of came up with if I can remember correctly. ... We ended up having a vote and the good beach boys we are, we figured out the day before we left and everyone scrambled to put some outfits together. We did a vote on the board and it was a tight vote, but I think we're all happy with how it went tonight."

Kyrou chimed in with, "I think it might have been 'Buchy' and 'Vladi', no?"

OK, fellas, who was it? Well, Ryan O'Reilly broke it down, which lends to believe he was in on it.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues players (from left) David Perron, Pavel Buchnevich and Ryan 

O'Reilly arrive at the Winter Classic braving the sub-zero temperatures.

"We kind of had a few ideas," the Blues captain said. "It was kind of a last-minute, we didn't plan it that far ahead. We were  kind of panicking a few days before of what we were going to do and we just kind of threw stuff in a group chat. It was either like lumberjacks or beachwear. We just feel like with everyone talking about how cold it was going to be, that would be good, just come in and catch some sun and enjoy it. It was good, we had a good laugh."

Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who scored in the second period to make it 3-1 Blues, said, "Like O'Ry said, there was couple options, you live only once. Not every year you play in Minnesota with cold weather and we decide to do something special. We looked pretty good. It gives us a lot of positive emotions for the guys when they see each other, especially for big games like this. It helped us."

Actually, Binnington thought lumberjack was going to win out, so he made sure he was prepared.

Oops.

"I actually ordered 30 lumberjack shirts two days prior before leaving and then we kind of got talking the next day and we thought, 'I don't know if that's it' and we went back on it," Binnington said. "If anyone needs a lumberjack shirt, I have a whole lot of large's and XL's."
Whatever the dress code, whatever they decided on, it worked. The coaching staff was on board with it, as long as the players made sure that business was business when it was time to go to work.

The coaching staff was not going to be part of it, though.

"No. The coaching staff was not," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That was the players’ idea. I thought it was pretty funny to be honest with you. They talked to me and Doug (Armstrong) about doing something coming into the rink. I wasn’t really sure what they were going to do. So I was a little bit surprised, too. But I thought it was pretty cool."

Yes, it was only a 10-15 second walk to the bus, off the bus and into the home of the Minnesota Twins. But come on, even in those few seconds, one can get silly cold.

"Yeah, I mean it's also kind of a quick walk, right," Kyrou said. "It's only 15 seconds, so I didn't think it was that bad, right?"

Sure it is.

"Everyone was talking about how cold it was and we didn't care," O'Reilly said. "We'll be fine. Walking off that bus, that's the quickest I've ever woken up for a game. We were just sitting there going, 'Oh my gosh. Nice little trick.' I was definitely fully awake. It was good. Guys definitely had fun with it. It's nice to do something different. It was good it got some laughs."

Laughs, yes. Sanity, no. But it'll be something worth remembering.

"I think the biggest deal is like when you do something fun and something that nobody done before, especially in a big game like this, it's very important how you change your mind to from going from the locker room to start the game, the conversations in the locker room," Tarasenko said. "It's very fun, but I think it puts us together more. We know we're responsible for a good game after this performance. It was pretty cool to see teammates in different outfits, especially we don't know who wears what. It gives us a lot of positive emotions before the game." 

Did it ever.

The Blues, even after being tied 1-1 after one period when David Perron gave them the lead and the Wild tied it 25 seconds later on a Blues own goal off defenseman Niko Mikkola, played a pretty solid first, outshooting Minnesota 14-6 and having more than enough quality chances. They carried that momentum into the second with a five-goal outburst, a record for a Winter Classic, and Kyrou led the charge.

"Yeah. it's a big show today," Binnington said. "He rose to the occasion and I think I'm really happy for him. I know how good he is, how hard he works. It's really good to see. I'm glad I'm on his team for sure. To which Kyrou looked over at Binnington and said, "Thanks bro." "No problem," Binnington said.

Kyrou was on. He was quick, he was patient, he was precise. It was his second four-point game of the season.

"Obviously it's unbelievable, right," Kyrou said. "Any time you get to play in the Winter Classic, it's pretty cool. Growing up as a kid, it's something you were watching and dreaming of playing in. Obviously you know it was a big game against Minnesota, they're right up there in the standings and we're right up there too. It was a big win by us."

The Blues did their best to prepare accordingly. 

Of course it started with layer upon layer upon layer, but once on the ice, it started with chicken broth.

Yes, chicken broth.

Binnington had it in his water bottle, and not the conventional H2O.

"I think a couple guys did," Binnington said. "We were just talking on our way in, I really didn't drink much water at all tonight. It was kind of strange. Didn't sweat much, I guess because it was so cold, but (director of performance Ryan Podell) got us some chicken broth for the room and we tried it on the bench because it was warm. It's kind of like soup so it was pretty good."

And then the Blues went to work, and they worked extremely hard and efficiently for 40 minutes.

"Before the game, we talked about being aggressive, getting on top of them with puck pressure and things like that," Berube said. "The one thing we talked about was the team that wants it more is going to probably win this game. I think with the cold and all the elements, it was important to have energy and emotion in the game. Again when you’re playing in that kind of extreme weather, you've got to dig in. You've got to want it. I thought our guys did an excellent job playing north like we wanted to. Keeping it simple, especially the first few periods and really putting pressure on them. And that’s what we did really well. We forechecked really well. Put pressure on them, we capitalized on some goals. I thought that gave us momentum that first period going into the second period and it carried over into the second."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues players (from left) Ryan O'Reilly, Marco Scandella, David Perron,

Brandon Saad and Scott Perunovich celebrate a goal Saturday night.

It wasn't the finish to the game the Blues wanted, being outshot 18-4 protecting a four-goal lead, but the end result was what mattered, and the memories will last an eternity.

Oh, and the Blues stay atop the Central Division lead with the two points.

"It was awesome," O'Reilly said. "I thought the NHL did a fantastic job putting it on. The crowd, I was talking to Binnington too after the game, especially that anthem how cool it was, to see that amount of people, fireworks, everything, the emotions of it. The NHL did a great job. It's so special to be around that and to be in a different setting. It was so much fun. To win on top of that and we're scoring goals and guys feeling good about their games and making nice plays, it was a special one. It's the second one I've been a part of, but this is obviously ... when you win it like that together, everyone played well together tonight, it was super special and fun to be a part of."