Pick your tagline for this game and go with it. They all suck. A lot of times I just type stupid stuff here to see if anyone reads it.
BLUES (24-7-4) at FLAMES (13-17-6)
TV: FS-MW, SNET-CGY
Last 10: St. Louis 6-2-2; Calgary 4-4-2
Season series: This is the second of three games between the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. The Blues won 3-2 on Nov. 7. Jordan Leopold had two assists and Brian Elliot made 18 saves.
Big story: After one win on a five-game road trip (1-2-2), the Flames return home for five games, starting Monday against the Blues. They will also face the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Team scope:
Blues: Chris Stewart had a hat trick and an assist in the Blues' 6-0 win against the Oilers on Saturday. Elliot made 23 saves for his second shutout to help St. Louis improve to 10-4-2 on the road.
Stewart has eight goals in six games after starting the season with none in the first 10.
"I kind of had a rough start of the year, and I told myself I wasn't going to pass up any more opportunities in the slot. I'm going to shoot to score and it's been working out as of late," Stewart said after the game.
Blues captain David Backes, who missed two games with a concussion, returned to the lineup and had 14:50 of ice time without recording a point. St. Louis was outshot 14-5 in the first period, but escaped with a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes.
"We were outplayed in the first and our goalie was our best player. We've had some of those starts before and we've recovered in some and in some, we haven't," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said.
Flames: Calgary is 0-2-2 in its past four games, the latest a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The Flames trailed 2-0 and 4-1 before making it a 4-3 game a minute into the third period, but that was as close as they would get.
"We got to find ways to actually get leads and extend leads and win games like that, and then if you lose that kind of game it doesn’t sting as much," Flames center Michael Cammalleri told reporters.
Flames coach Bob Hartley was pleased with his team’s effort. Calgary outshot Pittsburgh 30-23 and had 12 in the third period.
"They have some injuries but they still have Sidney Crosby up there. There first line is right there," Hartley said. "I thought we never quit, we kept going at the net. I don’t think it’s a tough loss to swallow."
Who's hot: Cammalleri has three points in two games for the Flames. … Jaden Schwartz has a goal in three of four games and Kevin Shattenkirk has a point in three straight games for the Blues.
Injury report: Defenseman Dennis Wideman (broken hand) is on injured reserve for the Flames. Curtis Glencross (lower body) was placed on IR. … Defenseman Jordon Leopold (finger), and forward Ryan Reaves (broken hand) are on IR for the Blues. Center Vladimir Sobotka (upper body) missed the game Saturday. Blues leading goal scorer Alexander Steen (undisclosed) was injured Saturday and did not return for the third period.
