Bedard, Blackhawks say they let fans down with Winter Classic loss to Blues 

CHICAGO -- Connor Bedard didn’t have an answer for it, the Chicago Blackhawks center as frustrated as anyone at their performance on the NHL’s national stage.

“It (stinks), man,” he said after the Blackhawks lost 6-2 to the St. Louis Blues at the Discover NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

“There were (more than) 40,000 people there, probably 30,000-plus of our fans. We obviously in our room are disappointed with ourselves but I feel bad for our fan base coming out to this and we kind of lay an egg.”

The Blackhawks (12-24-2) have dealt with a lot of frustration this season, but they were hoping that the change of scenery, the outdoor atmosphere and yes, the fan support, would lead to a hard-working effort and a good result.

It wasn’t to be.

After an emotional and rousing pregame celebration that featured The Smashing Pumpkins playing “Tonight, Tonight” for the player entrances, the Blackhawks allowed to Blues to score just 1:40 into the game, and then take a 2-0 lead at the 8:10 mark. After a goal from Taylor Hall made it a 2-1 game after the first period, the Blues put it away with three goals in the second.

Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said this Winter Classic was, “two different experiences.”

“The lead up, everything was amazing, but then you don’t win and look at it now, you feel like crap. It (stinks). You’ve got your family out there waiting. They froze their (butts) off for four hours to watch you and you’re not able to go out there with big smiles and make it the night what it should be. That’s what (stinks),” he said.

“For our fans too, walking home tonight, their fans are celebrating and ours are disappointed. That’s a bad feeling, too. We’re tired of disappointing them. We want to get them feeling good about our organization and our hockey team and get them behind us. That’s not the way to do it.”

The Blackhawks have now lost five straight with the past three games featuring lopsided results: 6-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, 5-1 to the Dallas Stars on Sunday and then 6-2 to the Blues on Tuesday.

Before this skid, the Blackhawks won three in a row. So, what’s changed from then to now?

“Execution,” Hall said. “It seems we’ve lost a little bit of confidence, a little bit of the swagger we had for a few games there. We’re a young group, so that can be a bit fickle at times to keep that mojo high. But it seems like we have a bad games and it takes us three games to get it back.

“It started in Buffalo. The other night against Dallas it was better but tonight the execution, it just wasn’t even close. And they hopped on us. They were quicker to pucks, they were on top of us, they were making plays, and it seemed like we just didn’t make plays. Pucks were hopping and we just didn’t have it. I’m so disappointed.”

So were Chicago’s fans, who booed the Blackhawks as they left the ice trailing 5-1 at the end of the second.

“It’s a special day. How many teams are playing outdoors this year? Four. So, we are fortunate to be one of those picked and we kind of get dog-walked there,” Bedard said. “It’s frustrating for sure.”

Granted, finding success outside has been an issue for the Blackhawks for years. They’re now 1-6-0 in outdoor games and 0-5-0 in the Winter Classic, their only win coming in the 2014 Stadium Series, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 at Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.

But on Tuesday it wasn’t so much about the loss as the performance that led to it. The Blackhawks wanted to put their best foot forward, not just for themselves but for the 40,933 fans in attendance. Instead, it was another day of frustration.

“Chicago knows how to celebrate sports, and our fans did not disappoint today,” Foligno said. “And the way it was set up, I think that’s what makes it so damn difficult right now.

“It’s just embarrassing to lose 6-2 in an environment like that at home. Our fans deserve better. It’s in this room to figure it out because that is three games in a row where it’s not good enough. I don’t know. I really wish I had an answer for you right now because on this stage, with the excitement that we had before the game, I thought this was going to be a turning point for our club, and obviously it wasn’t.”

NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke and senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report