Calgary Flames Begin Six-Game Homestand Against St. Louis Blues

The Calgary Flames are back on home ice, embarking on their longest stretch at the Scotiabank Saddledome this season with a six-game homestand. The journey begins tonight as they face off against the St. Louis Blues (7:30 p.m. MT/Sportsnet 1), completing their three-game season series.

After a lengthy road trip, the Flames are eager to return to Calgary and play in front of their home crowd. As Blake Coleman noted after Monday’s game in Detroit, “It was a long trip, it definitely felt long coming into (Monday’s game). It’ll be good to go home, good to be in front of our own fans, and regroup.”

Focus on Details and Consistency

Head Coach Ryan Huska emphasized the need for improvement in details following Monday’s game. He sees this homestand as a valuable opportunity to get back on track. “We’ve got to get back at it,” Huska stated. “And I think the challenge for our team is to put 60 minutes together, and we’ve talked a lot about the consistency that we have to play with. There’s certain things that we cannot do right now that we’re doing too much of, and I think it shoots us in the foot a little bit.”

The schedule will be demanding, with six games packed into an 11-day span. But the Flames are focused on starting strong with tonight’s matchup against St. Louis.

Blues Look to Bounce Back

The St. Louis Blues are in the midst of a Western Canadian road trip, having had their seven-game point streak snapped in a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. Despite outshooting Winnipeg 31-18, the Blues couldn’t find the back of the net enough times. Coach Jim Montgomery highlighted a lack of net-front presence as a key factor in the loss, stating, “I think Winnipeg was better than us at the net-fronts, which is an area where offensively we haven’t gone. We don’t consistently screen goalies, and it’s a big reason why we haven’t scored as much as we were expecting this year.”

Significant Changes for the Blues

The Blues have undergone significant changes in March, with captain Brayden Schenn and veteran defenceman Justin Faulk departing the team. Currently, Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 44 points, matching Blake Coleman’s team-leading point total for the Flames. St. Louis holds a five-point lead over Calgary in the Western Conference standings and boasts the most regulation wins (24) among Western teams currently outside the playoff picture.

Season Series Recap

The Flames and Blues have already met twice this season. The Blues won both contests: 4-2 in Calgary on October 11th and 3-2 in St. Louis on November 11th. Matt Coronato scored in both games for the Flames.

Did You Know?

• The Flames will wear their home red jerseys for the first time in six weeks tonight.
• Flames prospects Tyson Gross (NCHC Defensive Player of the Year) and Cole Reschny (NCHC Rookie of the Year) have recently earned conference honours.

Player Spotlight

Flames – Matvei Gridin: Gridin recorded an assist in Monday’s loss to Detroit, setting up Morgan Frost for a first-period goal. His line with Frost and Matt Coronato contributed both Flames tallies.

Blues – Jimmy Snuggerud: Snuggerud was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week after a strong performance, recording three goals, six points, and a +5 rating in four games. He currently leads the Blues with 15 goals and is fourth among rookie point leaders with 35 points.

Click here for the projected lineup.