Setting the Stage
The St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames have had a relationship best described as lopsided over the last 20 some odd years.
On the trade front St. Louis has acquired Hall of Famers Brett Hull and Al MacInnis at a minimal cost while Calgary largely dominated the Blues on the scoreboard during the height of the Iginla/Kipprusoff era.
Those days are long gone.
Well at least those where the Flames we’re on top and the Blues somewhere far below.
In April Blues GM Doug Armstrong cut a deal that will ultimately be viewed as another lopsided transaction between the franchises. The services of defenseman Jay Bouwmeester for Mark Cundari, and Reto Berra. Just your every day move involving an elite , top pairing possession blueliner in return for an AHL depth defenderand an unknown goalie. Over the summer St. Louis sent Kris Russell to Calgary as well in exchange for a draft pick. In a sense the transaction was complete at that point.
Clearly, the rebuild is on for one and over for the other. As if the difference in record, Calgary at 6-7-2-14 (pts) vs St. Louis at 9-2-2 (20pts), between them doesn’t explain enough. It’s also a reason why Blues fans may not recognize some of the names and sweater combinations they’ll see at the visitors end of the Scottrade Center Thursday night.
Departed, besides Bouwmeester, are Blues killers Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kipprusoff. New comers Sean Monahan and Sven Barteschi now represent the direction the organization plans to go in. In getting to GM Jay Feaster’s vision of tomorrow they have added some faces seen in the past.
Former Blues up and comer Dennis Wideman has taken on the Blues previously, but with other clubs since they left. Lee Stempniak would fall in to the same category, but he’s out of the lineup. Both feature prominently on head coach Bob Haretley’s lineup when healthy. Jiri Hudler, once a rival Detroit Red Wing, is their leading scorer with five goals and 16 points. Former Colorado skaters TJ Galiardi, David Jones, and Shane O’Brien are wearing red instead of maroon.
The last meeting between the two followed the one sided nature of the general trend. St. Louis won 4-1 on April 25th thanks to two goals from Ryan Reaves and 18 saves by Brian Elliott. Overall in 2012-13 the Blues’ won two of three and outscored the Flames 11 to 6.
Injuries
For the Blues forwards Brenden Morrow and Magnus Paajarvi remain out with upper body injuries. Both have bee participating in practice, but the luxury of not rushing their return continues to be taken full advantage of.
For the Flames Curtis Glencross is out with a lower body injury. Christopher Breen and Stempniak are out indefinitely with an abdominal and foot injury respectively. Captain Mark Giordano will not play due to a broken ankle.
Projected Lineups
Blues
Steen – Backes – Oshie
Roy – Sobotka – Stewart
Schwartz – Berglund – Tarasenko
Porter – Lapierre – Reaves
Bouwmeester – Pietrangelo
Jackman – Shattenkirk
Leopold – Polak
The line experimentation may be short lived. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported earlier today that it appears TJ Oshie will return to the top line.
*Flames
Cammalleri – Colborne – Galiardi
Bouma – Stajan – Jones
Hudler – Monahan – Jackman
Reinhart – Backlund – McGrattan
Butler – Brodie
Russell – Wideman
Billins – O’Brien
*According to DailyFaceoff.com
The Russell and Wideman pairing could determine the outcome of the game. Their combined skating and puck moving ability could prove problematic if the Blues are sloppy or out of sync. On the flip side, their deficiencies playing in their own end without the puck could lead to a feast for the Blues hungry forward lines.
Starting Goalies
Elliott will get his third start of the season and his second consecutive against Calgary. He is 1-0-1 with a 2.07 GAA, .932 save %, and one shutout.
Berra makes his third career start. In the previous two games he has allowed seven goals on 68 shots for a 3.46 GAA and .897 save %.
Hot & Cold
Hot: Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has four goals and six points in his last five games. Hulder has two goals and seven points in his last eight games for the Flames.
Cold: Patrik Berglund has just one assist and seven shots on goal in his last five games.
Special Teams
Power Play
STL is 8 for 28 (28.6%) at home which is 3rd overall. CGY is 5 for 33 (15.2%) on the road which is 20th overall.
Penalty Kill
STL has allowed 7 PPGs in 33 short handed situations (72.37%) at home. Calgary has allowed 10 PPGs in the same number of short handed situations (69.7%) on the road.
The Fanciest of Stats
At 5 on 5 close Corsi For % the Blues are ranked 6th at 53.9% and Calgary is 27th at 46.6%. Expect the home team to hold on to the puck more than road team and generate more scoring chances. Because of the separation between the two teams the outcome likely hangs on the play of the netminders and who can bail out their team at the right time. It’s a similar situation that produced a 6-1 win over Nashville and Carter Hutton.
Quick Hits
-- One FYI to pass along... Prospect Dmitrij Jaskin tweeted earlier today that he will return to the Chicago Wolves lineup tonight. He's been out since the third game of the season due to injury. In the three games he has appeared in Jaskin has a goal and an assist to his credit.
Pick the Goal Scorer
Get your guesses in now for the contest. Just add a comment with your pick for who will score the Blues' first goal. Win prizes and such later in the season.
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