Winners and Losers from the 2025 NHL Winter Traditional

The Pleasant Confines of Wrigley Discipline hosted the 2025 Winter Traditional because the rival Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues confronted off for the NHL’s annual outside spectacular.

A sea of 40,933 followers crammed the Wrigley stands, with the followers of the guests being those who went residence comfortable after the sport because the Blues prevailed in Chicago, 6-2.

And we get it: we all know that St. Louis gained and Chicago misplaced. However who had been the true standouts from the sport?

Listed here are the Winners and Losers from the 2025 NHL Winter Traditional.

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Cam Fowler started the month in lovely, sunny Southern California with the Geese and doubtless did not suppose he’d be taking part in his 1,000th NHL recreation at Wrigley Discipline.

The veteran defenseman has been a stabilizing presence for St. Louis on the blue line and has posted his finest metrics in fairly a while. The pattern measurement is small—simply eight video games coming into Tuesday—however Fowler’s xGF percentage is 54.82, an over 14 % enhance from his time with the Geese, in line with Pure Stat Trick.

After all, it helps to play with some proficient playmakers like Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas, who arrange Fowler’s opening objective of the sport. Fowler was left huge open within the slot and buried the puck previous Chicago goaltender Petr Mrázek at 1:40 of the primary interval.

He added his second objective of the sport with a shot that had eyes and located the again of the online at 17:51 of the second interval.

One other loss means the likelihood of Chicago successful the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery will increase ever so barely.

The Blackhawks got here into the sport with the perfect likelihood to win the No. 1 decide, being lifeless final within the NHL in factors and factors proportion.

It is already been a tumulous season with basic supervisor Kyle Davidson relieving Luke Richardson of his head coaching duties back on Dec. 5. Whereas there weren’t any main expectations for the six-time Stanley Cup winners to contend instantly, the outcomes this season have been majorly disappointing. Tuesday’s loss to St. Louis confirmed why.

Surrendering two early objectives shorthanded put the hosts on the again foot for a lot of the night. The Blues constructed on their benefit all through the evening and cruised to a straightforward victory.

“You possibly can’t be behind the eight ball,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno mentioned to the media after the sport. “… Every crew was in search of momentum, we give it to [the Blues] straight away. We’re not a crew that is constructed to come back again being down two. We obtained to take a look at ourselves and say we obtained to do extra.”

Nothing like a tilt between captains to get a sold-out crowd again right into a recreation that is 5-1.

Proper after the Blues added their fifth objective late within the second interval, Foligno tried to supply a spark by dropping the gloves with the Blues’ Brayden Schenn.

By way of leisure, it offered the house followers one thing to cheer about with their crew getting blown out.

Chicago has an illustrious historical past as one of many NHL’s Unique Six franchises, nevertheless it has a horrible file in outside video games.

The Hawks dropped to a 1-6-0 mark in NHL outdoor games with their solely win coming in a Stadium Collection tilt towards the Penguins in 2014. In addition they remained winless in Winter Classics, dropping to 0-5-0.

One-off video games will be unpredictable, particularly in outside parts, nevertheless it’s puzzling to suppose {that a} franchise that had the likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith of their primes may carry out so poorly in showcase video games just like the Winter Traditional.

It is secure to say Connor Bedard’s first outside recreation expertise within the NHL did not go to plan.

The 19-year-old generational expertise recorded his thirty third level of the season with an help on Tyler Bertuzzi’s third-period objective, nevertheless it got here too late—the outcome was not unsure.

The expectations are sky-high for Bedard, and his sophomore season has been removed from simple.

“We’re not proud of the place we’re,” he mentioned to the media after the sport. “… We are able to undoubtedly be a extra constant group.”

Chalk up the heavy defeat to St. Louis as a hard-to-take studying expertise, and there will be loads of alternatives for him to set the file straight in future NHL outside video games.