By Myrtle Davies

NHL Public Relations

* The Blackhawks and Blues return outdoors and will produce the first Winter Classic rematch, following a St. Louis victory at the 2017 Winter Classic. The contest marked the 11th comeback win in an NHL outdoor game and second in as many days during the 2016-17 campaign after Toronto rallied to defeat Detroit at the 2017 Centennial Classic on Jan. 1.

* The Discover NHL Winter Classic will mark Chicago’s seventh appearance in an outdoor game (1-5-0 in 6 GP), breaking a tie with Pittsburgh (2-3-1 in 6 GP) and Philadelphia (1-4-1 in 6 GP) for the most by one team in League history.

* St. Louis is 2-0-0 in its previous two outdoor game appearances to date after also earning a victory against Minnesota at the 2022 Winter Classic – an event that watched Jordan Kyrou (2-2—4) set an NHL record for most points in an outdoor game.

* The Blues can join the Rangers (5-0-0 from Jan. 2, 2012 – present) and Capitals (3-0-0 from Jan. 1, 2011 – March 3, 2018) as the third franchise to win each of its first three or more appearances in an outdoor game.

* St. Louis can also become the second franchise to score four or more goals in three outdoor games. Detroit is the only one to do so to date after it did so at the 2009 Winter Classic (6), 2016 Stadium Series (5) and 2017 Centennial Classic (4).

* Illinois (also 2009 WC & 2014 SS) is set to become the fourth U.S. state to host at least three regular-season outdoor games, following New York (4: 2008 WC, 2 at 2014 SS & 2018 WC), Pennsylvania (4: 2011 WC, 2012 WC, 2017 SS & 2019 SS) and Massachusetts (3: 2010 WC, 2016 WC & 2023 WC).

* In a campaign that watched Connor Bedard become the third Blackhawks teenager with at least 80 career points (also Eddie Olczyk: 129 & Patrick Kane: 94), the 19-year-old is set to skate in his first outdoor game and can become the sixth-youngest player in League history to appear in one. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft will be 19 years, 167 days at the time the puck drops for the Discover NHL Winter Classic and can become just the fourth teenager to register a point at an outdoor game – Auston Matthews (2-0—2 at 2017 Centennial Classic), Mitch Marner (1-0—1 at 2017 Centennial Classic) and Connor McDavid (0-1—1 at 2016 Heritage Classic) are the only ones to accomplish the feat to date.

* The Winter Classic will conclude Bedard’s first full calendar year in the NHL, a span that has watched the Blackhawks rookie post 14-40—54 in 65 regular-season games. He is one of 13 teenagers in League history with 40 or more assists in a calendar year – a list that includes three other active players: Sidney Crosby (81 in 2006 & 43 in 2007), Connor McDavid (54 in 2016) and Nathan MacKinnon (41 in 2014).

* Teuvo Teravainen is set to appear in his first of two marquee NHL events in a span of nearly 50 days and will join Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February following his third career outdoor game (2016 Stadium Series w/ CHI & 2023 Stadium Series w/ CAR). He can tie the longest stretch of consecutive outdoor appearances with a goal after he scored his first and only outdoor tally at Carter-Finley Stadium on Feb. 18, 2023. No player in NHL history has found the back of the net in three consecutive outdoor appearances.

* Alec Martinez has the most outdoor-game experience on Chicago’s roster (1-0—1 in 4 GP) and is one of two Chicago skaters with a goal (also Teravainen: 1-1—2 in 2 GP). He can become the sixth defenseman to appear in at least five outdoor contests and the second to score multiple times – Samuel Girard (2-0—2 in 2 GP) is the only blueliner to do so to date.

* Newly named Blackhawks head coach Anders Sorensen, the first Swedish-born head coach in NHL history, is set to join another shortlist when he guides his team out onto the ice at Wrigley Field. Only three rookie head coaches in League history have been behind the bench for an outdoor game to date: Jeremy Colliton (2019 Winter Classic w/ CHI), Phil Housley (2018 Winter Classic w/ BUF) and Jeff Blashill (2016 Stadium Series w/ DET). Blashill is the only one of the cohort to earn a victory.

* Jordan Kyrou enters Wrigley Field with the most points among all players on both rosters in outdoor games after he set a single-outdoor game NHL record at the 2022 Winter Classic (2-2—4). The Blues forward can become the second player in NHL history to register at least five points in a span of two outdoor games after David Pastrnak did so between the 2019 Winter Classic and 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe (4-1—5 in 2 GP).

* Kyrou, with his sights set on becoming the eighth player in League history with at least five career points in outdoor games, can also join rare company with another game-winning goal. Brad Richards (2012 Winter Classic & 2016 Stadium Series) is the only player to register multiple winners outdoors.

* Brandon Saad (1-1—2 in 5 GP) has appeared in five outdoor games, including three with the Blackhawks, and is one of 16 players on the Blues’ roster with experience in an NHL regular-season outdoor game (min. 1 GP in 2024-25). The 14-season veteran can tie the second-most games played outdoors in NHL history; James van Riemsdyk (3-3—6 in 7 GP) paces the group.
* Jordan Binnington (1-0-0; 2022 Winter Classic) can become the ninth goaltender in NHL history to play outdoors as a franchise’s all-time wins leader and can do so after he bested his agent, Mike Liut (151), on Nov. 27. Five of those goaltenders earned a win in those contests: Jonathan Quick (2x), Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tuukka Rask and Craig Anderson.

* Jim Montgomery will make his second appearance in an outdoor game as head coach after he guided the Bruins past the Penguins during the 2023 Winter Classic. Montgomery can become the seventh head coach in NHL history to earn a win in each of his first two or more outdoor appearances. Alain Vigneault (3 GP), Bruce Cassidy (2 GP), Barry Trotz (2 GP), Michel Therrien (2 GP), Bruce Boudreau (2 GP) and Claude Julien (2 GP) are the only ones to do so to date.

* The Blackhawks and Blues, franchises separated by roughly 300 miles, have shared the same division for all but one season since 1970-71 (West: 1970-71 – 1973-74; Smythe: 1974-75 – 1980-81; Norris: 1981-82 – 1992-93; Central: 1993-94 – 2019-20 & 2021-22 – present). The lone exception was 2020-21, when the League briefly reorganized its divisional structure. St. Louis (2019-20, 2014-15 and 2011-12) and Chicago (2016-17, 2012-13 and 2009-10) accounted for six division crowns from 2009-10 to 2019-20.

* The Blues have earned 141 regular-season victories against the Blackhawks (155-130-46 in 331 GP), the franchise’s second most against a single opponent behind only their total against the Stars/North Stars (144), while Chicago’s 155 regular-season wins against the Blues are the franchise’s most against a non-Original Six club – a total which includes an 11-0-3 mark through their first 14 home games against the club from Nov. 12, 1967 to March 26, 1972 before St. Louis earned its first road win in the Windy City on Oct. 15, 1972.

* The Blues and Blackhawks have competed in 12 series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to date (CHI: 8-4) – the second-most by any pair of franchises (excluding Original Six matchups) behind the Blues and Stars/North Stars (14; STL: 8-6). Chicago’s eight postseason series wins against St. Louis are its second most against a single franchise behind Detroit (9-7 in 16 series).
* A combination of 85 players and goaltenders have appeared in an NHL game for both the Blackhawks and Blues, including Troy Brouwer. Brouwer, who skated for Chicago from 2006-07 to 2010-11 and helped them win a Stanley Cup in 2010, switched sides for the first time in 2015-16 and did so just in time for a matchup between the two clubs in the First Round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs – a series that featured 91.3% of total playing time either tied or within a goal (412:48 of 452:11), the Blackhawks rally from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 and Brouwer score the game winner in the seventh-and-deciding contest.
* A sibling rivalry has also played a part in defining the history between the two franchises after six of the Sutter brothers played for either the Blues or Blackhawks, but Rich is the only one to suit up for both (STL: 250 GP; CHI: 98 GP). Brian (STL) and Duane (CHI) went head-to-head during the 1988 Division Semifinals; Brian (STL) and Darryl (CHI) met in the postseason three times (1980 PRLM, 1982 DF & 1983 DSF); Duane (CHI) and Rich (STL) faced off in the 1990 Division Finals; Rich (STL) and Brent (CHI) clashed in the 1993 Division Semifinals.

* Brett Hull (494-379—873 in 713 GP), who spent 1987-88 to 1997-98 with the Blues, and Jeremy Roenick (345-448—793 in 727 GP), who spent 1988-89 to 1995-96 with the Blackhawks, were key components for their respective franchises and were the two highest-scoring American players of the 1990s – with the former also leading all players in goals during that span.

* Roenick was selected by Chicago with the No. 8 pick in the 1988 NHL Draft and made an immediate impact on the rivalry during the 1989 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Following a regular season in which he produced 9-9—18 in 20 contests, the 19-year-old scored his first career postseason goal in Game 5 of the 1989 Division Finals against the Blues – a tally that stood as the game winner and the series-clinching goal.

* Philip Broberg (STL) owns the sixth-fastest maximum skating speed by a defenseman this season after he produced a 23.48 mph burst on Dec. 14.

* Colton Parayko (STL) has recorded three bursts of 22 mph or faster in 2024-25 – three shy of the most among defensemen behind Luke Hughes (6). Parayko’s 78 bursts of 20 mph or faster are also the most among all blueliners and five more than the next closest (Cale Makar: 73 w/ COL).

* Ryan Suter skated 4.68 miles during St. Louis’ contest against Buffalo on Nov. 14 – tied for the fifth highest among all skaters in a single game this season. His total is equivalent to rounding an MLB basepath approximately 69 times – three more than Chicago Cubs icon Sammy Sosa did during the 1998 season when he hit 35 of his single-season, franchise-record 66 home runs at Wrigley Field.

* Chicago’s Alex Vlasic is one of five players with a 100-mph shot in 2024-25 (101.92 mph on Nov. 19). Only three players have produced a harder shot this season: Tage Thompson (104.69 mph on Oct. 26), Michael Kesselring (103.77 mph on Oct. 24) and Colin Miller (103.08 mph on Nov. 19). In comparison, the hardest-hit ball by a St. Louis Cardinals or Chicago Cubs player last season belongs to Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki (115.5 mph on Sept. 24), just slightly harder than St. Louis’ Willson Contreras (115.3 mph on July 22).

* Jordan Binnington has recorded 146 saves in the high-danger zone this season, the sixth highest among all goaltenders behind Juuse Saros (172), Igor Shesterkin (163), Connor Hellebuyck (157), Sam Montembeault (153) and Lukas Dostal (149).

#NHLStats is starting the New Year’s Eve countdown a little early, so here are 10 things you need to know about the Discover NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field in Chicago:

#10 – The total attendance of NHL regular-season outdoor games entering the Discover NHL Winter Classic sits at 2,104,384.

#9 – A total of 14 regular-season outdoor games have been played in baseball parks including the Discover NHL Winter Classic. Wrigley Field (also 2009 WC) will join Yankee Stadium (both 2014 SS) and Fenway Park (2023 WC & 2010 WC) as the third park to host an NHL game twice.

#8 – The Discover NHL Winter Classic will be the 42nd outdoor game in League history and the No. 42 was retired across the MLB in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson – the first number to be retired across the league. In the NHL, Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 is the only number retired across the League – Gretzky will be part of the NHL on TNT’s broadcast of the New Year’s Eve game.

#7 – Keegan Kolesar, who skated in the last Winter Classic, connects the NHL to the MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals through his father, Charles Peterson, who was a first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1993 MLB Draft, played 14 years of professional baseball, and scouted for the Cardinals from 2012 until he passed away in 2020.
#6 – Teuvo Teravainen played in two outdoor games during his time with Jokerit in SM-liiga. In 2012, at the age of 17, Teravainen scored in the 2012 Talviklassikko which translates to “a Winter Classic” to help ignite his team’s multi-goal comeback. Chicago’s first round selection in 2012, then made his second outdoor appearance with Jokerit during the 2014 Talviklassikko while sporting the gold helmet as the team’s top scorer.

#5 – The Discover NHL Winter Classic will be the first outdoor game between two teams that made an in-season coaching change.
#4 – Home teams are 21-16-4 in the League’s 41 outdoor games to date, including a 16-4-2 record in the last 22 such contests. Road teams are 20-17-4 overall.

#3 – Teams that score first are 24-12-5 in the NHL’s 41 outdoor games, including a 19-6-3 record in the last 28 such contests.

#2 – Eight of the NHL’s 41 outdoor games have required overtime, with six decided in the 5-minute extra session and two determined in a shootout.

#1 – Twenty of the League’s 41 outdoor games have featured a comeback win (48.8%), including nine of the last 16.

COURTESY NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS