MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jordan Kyrou had two goals and two assists in a five-goal second period for St. Louis, and the Blues cruised through the coldest outdoor game in NHL history to beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 in the Winter Classic on Saturday night.
The official faceoff temperature was minus-5.7 degrees, the first of 33 outdoor games the league has played with a temperature below zero.
The temperature in the Twin Cities on Saturday was forecast to stay below zero the entire day, so the evening start time won’t make it much worse. It’s expected to be around minus-5 degrees at faceoff.
“I don’t know what to expect. I see how cold it’s going to be, but I don’t know how cold it will feel,” Blues goalie Jordan Binnington said earlier this week. “We’re going to do our part gearing up and do the best we can to be ready for it.”
The NHL designed the snow-covered home of the Minnesota Twins to look like a frozen lake, with a log cabin warming house in center field and eight mini-rinks to simulate pond-style play next to the main sheet of ice that was coated with 350 gallons of paint. The music stage was built like a dock. Pine trees and deer statues completed the scene, as light snow fell on Friday afternoon while each team skated through a light practice.
“It actually wasn’t bad. The fingertips were really the only things that I experienced cold. I don’t think the guys were,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “It was a little bit funky at the start, a lot of snow coming down in our eyes and the shields were getting fogged up. When it stopped snowing there, it got a lot better.”
Wild star Kirill Kaprizov won’t be fazed. He’s actually from Siberia.
“I loved playing as a kid and even just recently with a long break, we got a chance to go play some outdoor hockey,” Kaprizov said. “I love it. It’s always a lot of fun.”\
Due to virus outbreaks on other teams, the Wild had four games postponed over the last three weeks and had not played in 12 days. They have allowed 22 goals in their last four games.