Flames Best Blues
Game #10 St. Louis Blues at Calgary Flames | October 28, 2011
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In their second match up of the season the St. Louis Blues faced off with the Calgary Flames. The first tussle resulted in a victory for the Blues but the Flames were more prepared this time around as they took down the Blues 3-1.
Brian Elliott got the start again over Jaroslav Halak as Blues coach Davis Payne continued to ride his hot goalie. Elliott lost some of his winning magic stopping 15 of 17 Calgary shots against. It was a scary moment for Blues fans late in the second when Kent Huskins ran a speeding David Moss into Elliott. Shook up in what looked like a nasty play, Elliott was able to stay in the game.
Across the ice, Elliott stared down Mikka Kiprusoff who started in net for the Flames. The Kipper was solid in net locking down all but one of St. Louis’ 29 shots. The Blues made his job easier missing multiple shots towards goal.
Both goalies were solid through the scoreless first and through most of the second. But Calgary would get on the board late in the second with a goal from Tom Kostopoulos. A rare miscue by Alex Pietrangelo led to a turned over puck right on Tim Jackman’s stick who fed it behind the net. Strong fore checking from Roman Horak popped the puck back to Jackman who swept it in front to an open Kostopoulos to give Calgary a one goal lead.
The energy from the Blues was increased in the third only to have it deflated by Horak who scored his second of the year and got his second point on the night. With Barret Jackman and Kevin Shattenkirk defending behind the net, Curtis Glencross managed to get a puck through traffic in front of Elliott. Horak picked up the pass and squeaked a shot through Elliott’s legs.
Seconds later the Blues brought life back into their game. Payne emphasizes how important the shift after a goal is and the team showed it. A strong face off win for Jason Arnott led to Jamie Langenbrunner firing a shot in. The puck deflected to the corner and up the boards to Alex Steen whose shooting instincts took over. Good things happen when pucks get on goal. It may have been redirected by the Flames’ Olli Jokinen, but the shot beat Kiprusoff to cut the lead in half.
Jokinen scored the empty net goal after a late push by the Blues to finish off the scoring and to end the Blues winning streak.
The Blues failed to score on the power play again. Even with almost a full minute of a five-on-three, St. Louis cannot figure out how to take advantage of the extra man going 0-2.
Up Next: Sunday at the Edmonton Oilers
