St. Louis Blues
(5-4-0)
vs
Calgary Flames
(3-4-1)
@
Scotiabank Saddledome
Game time: 8:00 pm (CST)
TV Coverage: FSMW (HD)
Radio Coverage: Fresh 102.5 FM
Head to Head:
Tonight is the second match up between the Blues and the Flames this season. The first game resulted in a Blues 5-2 win, and was Jaroslav Halak’s only win so far this season. Both teams have had a bit of a shaky start to the season so far.
From the Blues Perspective:
The Blues have a major goaltending debate on their hands. Jaroslav Halak started the season out extremely weak. Backup goaltender Brian Elliott has shown strength and reliability in his starts, and has won all 4 of the games he has started. Halak has only 1 win in his 5 starts. While many fans are expecting the Blues to continue to rely on the hot hand, others think that Halak needs to get back in the net to work his kinks out. While tonight may have seemed to be the opportunity for Halak to try and jump-start his season, since he has proven he can beat the Flames in his only win this season, the Blues are planning starting Brian Elliot yet again (Jeremy Rutherford).
Meanwhile, the Blues forwards have been stepping up to get the Blues on the board more than when the season started. In the last game, Alex Steen scored 2 of the 3 Blues goals, giving him 5 goals and 8 points total this season.
The Blues will need to outwork and out-shoot the Flames tonight if they hope to have a repeat performance of the October 10th game.
From the Flames Perspective:
The Flames have had as shaky of a start to their season as the Blues have. In their 8 games, they only have 3 wins. The Flames have been on a home stand for their last 4 games, but they have only managed to win 2 of those games.
The Flames carry an unusual line arrangement of 11 forwards and 7 defensemen. This arrangement isn’t something completely new in the NHL, but most teams carry 12 forwards unless they are suffering from injury issues. The unique lineup gave the Flames a win against the Avalanche, and there is a good possibility that the Blues could face it tonight.
The Flames have seen most of their strength in their forwards thus far. Rene Bourque has a team-high 5 goals, but those are his only points so far this season. Alex Tanguay is the team’s point leader with 8 points (1 G, 7 A).
The Flames will need to step their game up if they hope to add another home win tonight.