2022 Winter Classic Recap

It was at this moment that the Wild were probably doomed to lose.

Game Highlights:

First Period - Beach attire aside, the Blues and Wild begun the game at -8 degrees. For those of you scoring at home (again, does anyone ever do this?) that’s the coldest it has ever been for a hockey game. The Blues put the pressure on the Wild but couldn’t get any pucks past starter Cam Talbot. That WAS until David Perron broke the 0-0 tie. With around five minutes to go in the period Ryan O’Reilly fired the puck towards the net. The puck didn’t make it to the net though. It bounced off of a Wild player and straight to Perron. Perron snapped a quick shot. He beat Talbot and gave the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Seconds later the Blues scored again. While true, they put the puck in the wrong net. Kirill Kaprizov directed the puck on net. Instead of going to the intended recipient the puck bounced off of Niko Mikkola. Jordan Binnington wasn’t able to stop the redirected puck and it wound up in the back of the net.

1-1 after one. Shots on goal in the period were 14-6 in favor of the Blues.

Second Period - Sometimes the Blues don’t have the best second periods. And I am always one of the first people to point them out. The second period tonight? Definitely not one of them. Just under thirty seconds into the period Jordan Kyrou scored to put the Blues ahead 2-1. The Blues won the face off. Jordan Kyrou then skated around with the puck including turning a Wild player into a traffic cone. Once he got past his “defender” he centered the puck. Instead of the puck going to Vladimir Tarasenko it bounced off a Wild player and over the goal line. 2-1 Blues. Not all goals are pretty, but they count just the same am I right?

But wait there’s more! The Blues took a 3-1 lead thanks to Winter Classic legend Vladimir Tarasenko. Robert Thomas brought the puck up ice. Thomas got the puck over to Kyrou. Kyrou showing the patience of a saint saw Tarasenko getting in position. Tarasenko got there and Kyrou got the puck to him. Tarasenko blasted the puck past Talbot and got Kyrou on the score sheet again.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. The Blues didn’t just score 5 on 5 but on their second power play of the night. (The first one didn’t really count cause it was all of about 20 seconds) The Blues moved the puck around. The puck eventually made it to Kyrou’s stick. Kyrou shot the puck and it bounced off of Talbot’s pads. Ivan Barbashev was right there to collect and deposit the payment of a puck to the back of the goal. The Blues are now up 4-1 and ROLLING.

Just when you thought they were done scoring in the period...THERE IS YET AGAIN ANOTHER GOAL. Kyrou brought the puck into the zone. He passed the puck over to Robert Thomas. Thomas being generous passed the puck back to Kyrou. Kyrou dipsy doodled the puck around for a moment. Until BAM. Snap shot right past Talbot for the Blues fourth goal of the period. I cannot believe I just typed that.

Rem Pitlick (What an unfortunate name for this guy) brought the Blues back down to earth for a second. Pitlick scored another goal that could only be described as a very lucky bounce. He shot the puck from behind the goal. The puck bounced off of Binnington’s stick. It bounced of of Binnington’s helmet. It may have even bounced off the beer of the guy in the third row. Who really knows. All we do know is that the puck ended up in the back of the net.

So the Blues are gonna go into the second intermission with a 5-2 lead right? What do you mean they scored again? It’s 6-2 now? Torey Krug scored a goal with less than a minute to go? Cam Talbot was on the bench to start the third? Yes to all of the above. The Blues scored FIVE goals in the period. FIVE. EFF EYE VEE EEE. 5. You get the idea.

Shots in the second period were 14-9 in favor of the Blues.

Third Period - With 11:20 to go in the period, the Wild pull to within three. (LOFUCKINGL) Mats Zuccarello hit Ryan Hartman with a perfect feed. Hartman was able to one time the puck past Binnington. Congrats to the Wild for scoring their first goal of the night without any luck whatsoever.

The Wild pulled their goalie aka Not Cam Talbot (Kappo Koopa Troopa Kahkonen) with a good chunk of time to go. The Wild didn’t score when it was 6 on 4. They did however add a goal after they went back to 6 on 5. Kevin Fiala faked the one timer and then actually shot the puck. He scored making this game way more interesting than it should’ve been.

The Wild were a pain in the ass for the rest of the period. They were able to be that way BECAUSE SOMEHOW THE BLUES CANNOT HIT AN EMPTY FRIGGIN NET BUT CAN SCORE 6 WHEN THERE’S ACTUALLY SOMEONE IN IT. *ahem* Anyway, the Blues won. The Blues are now 2-0 in Winter Classic’s. They are also 2-0 in better looking uniforms. That’s just how it goes. The Blues take on the Penguins Wednesday night. That game is also on TNT. At least the fans won't freeze their butts off.

Tweetamania is Running Wild Brother. No, not those Wild.

Agreed.

I really love this graphic. I really love the TNT broadcasts. I also love lamp.

Forget water. Binnington had something else in the bottle tonight.

More on the move that ended the Wild’s night before it even started. I want to know what (if anything) was in the coolers.

Love this for Kyrou. Who may or may not be elite.

It’s gonna hurt like a bitch when this guy leaves town isn’t it?