How the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry is spilling over into the Winter Classic
Monday’s NHL Winter Classic in St. Louis will obviously have a lot of baseball flavor. But that’s not only because the game is being played at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. As we’ve now learned, a goalie from each team will be sporting masks inspired by the Cardinals and Chicago Cubs respectively, which is a truly fantastic touch.
It was just a couple weeks ago that Chicago Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling unveiled his Cubs-themed mask which adorned the likeness of Anthony Rizzo, Harry Caray and others. Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Carter Hutton of the St. Louis Blues revealed his Cardinals-themed mask on Friday, with such Redbird luminaries as Stan Musial and Ozzie Smith represented.
????⚾️ STL All in one for the winter classic thanks @jessescustomdesign
A photo posted by Carter Hutton (@hutts40) on Dec 29, 2016 at 11:42am PST
Like we said, it’s epic.
You’ll notice the Cardinals 11 World Series championships are prominently featured. That is no doubt a reminder that the Cubs have some catching up to do. But it won’t change the fact that the Cubs are the team to beat right now.
Another cool touch on Hutton’s mask is the image of Ozzie Smith doing his patented backflip. The Wizard will be a big part of the festivities and might be ready to suit up based on this meeting with Wayne Gretzky.
This is what happens when The Wizard meets The Great One. pic.twitter.com/S3sCvHQZvQ
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) December 30, 2016
It’s possible Smith would have been a pretty good goalie based on his reflexes and flexibility on defense. We’re thankful though that he belongs to baseball.
BLS H/N: Cut 4
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
