5 Things - Flames @ Blues

1. Meet Me In St. Louis

The Gateway Arch is only one example, but the Flames arrived in St. Louis early Monday morning with the aim of exhibiting their own form of structural impressionism tonight.

Seeking goals, and seeking a standout performance; just two of the objectives here in the Show Me State.

Sunday in Minnesota, Calgary's shooters were left stymied by netminder Jesper Wallstedt. Despite hurling 36 pucks on target, they failed to light the lamp, leaving captain Mikael Backlund and his charges frustrated at another 60 minutes that got away.

"I mean, the effort was way better than the last game," he said post-game. "Played a lot better today.

"It's hard to win when you don't score, and that was the difference."

Head Coach Ryan Huska said Sunday evening that he liked a lot of his team's game versus the Wild, but when push comes to shove, he's hoping to see a bit more assertiveness in the areas in and around the blue paint.

"I think we can do a better job of getting some more people to the net, so the goalie can't see the original shot," he said Sunday night. "I thought the guys made some adjustments as the game went on.

"But we were able to gain a fair bit of zone time tonight, which is something that's important for us in trying to find a way to wear opposing D-men down."

The team had an off-day Monday in Missouri, a rarity in recent weeks given the compressed schedule and rigourous travel itinerary.

Come 7 p.m Central Time Tuesday, Backlund's hope is his group will be refreshed, recharged, and focused on converting every opportunity they earn.

"We've got to get more bodies to the net, make it even harder on the goalies," the Calgary captain said. "We got a lot of shots, some good chances, but make it harder on the goalie that we have the last two games.

"We got the looks, we've got to put in the net."

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2. Know Your Enemy

The Blues (5-8-3) have collected two wins and an overtime point from their past four games after suffering through a seven-game losing streak in late October.

Tonight's game marks the second in a four-game homestand for St. Louis, who last played Saturday in a 4-3 OT setback to the Seattle Kraken. Dylan Holloway, Dalibor Dvorsky and Jordan Kyrou had the Blues markers, but Chandler Stephenson forced extra time with an equalizer at 19:58 of the third period, and Shane Wright ended proceedings just under two minutes into the overtime session.

"First period, I thought we were really good,” the Calgarian Holloway told reporters after the game. "Second period, we kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit, and third period, I thought we were playing stingy hockey and guys are battling and trying to get that two points.

"There’s a lot of good from that game, but also a lot of stuff we need to work on."

Offensively, St. Louis is led by forwards Jordan Kyrou and Pius Suter, both of whom have five goals and nine points to start the season. Robert Thomas is even on points with the duo, too, on the partial strength of a team-leading seven assists.

Joel Hofer, who recorded the win for the Blues in Calgary Oct. 11, was tagged with the loss Saturday versus the Kraken, while running mate Jordan Binnington comes into tonights game with a 3.34 goals-against average and .859 save percentage across his 11 appearances in 2025-26.

Notably, St. Louis will be without Airdrie product Jake Neighbours this evening, after he suffered a leg injury Oct. 28. At the time, he was expected to miss about five weeks of action.

3. Fast Facts

2025-26 Season Series

Tonight's game marks the second of three meetings between the Flames and Blues this season, with St. Louis holding the upper hand in the season set after a 4-2 win in Calgary Oct. 11.

Matt Coronato scored both Flames goals that afternoon.

The two sides will meet once more in 2025-26, again at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Mar. 18.

Did You Know?

After turning aside 17 of 18 shots against the Wild, Devin Cooley improved his season save percentage to .935, while his season goals-against average dropped to 1.75 over his five appearances (all on the road).

Tonight's opponent bears significance, too, to the product of Los Gatos, Calif. Cooley recorded his first career NHL win against the Blues - a 34-save effort Apr. 6, 2024 - while tending twine for the San Jose Sharks.

4. Chilly One (Hundred)

Morgan Frost is on the verge of a milestone.

The silky centreman's next assist will be the 100th of the Aurora, Ont. product's NHL career, to go along with 56 career goals split between the Flyers and Flames.

And while Frost has played the majority of his NHL career in the Eastern Conference, he actually has better career splits against Western Conference teams.

He's logged 78 career points in 136 contests against Western opposition, compared to 77 points in 189 games against clubs from the East.

And in 67 career appearances against Central Division teams, he has 40 points - the second-highest divisional point total of his career (and in the fewest number of games, no less).

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Kevin Bahl

Bahl returned to the Flames lineup Sunday in Minnesota following a one-game absence, and asserted himself well in the 2-0 setback to the Wild.

On his first shift, Bahl drove the net from the right side, forcing netminder Jesper Wallstedt into a tricky save (not to mention a bit of self-defence, as the Flames defender's sizeable frame hurtled into the crease post-shot attempt.

Bahl had a helper in the first meeting of the season versus the Blues, assisting on Matt Coronato's second-period marker in that 4-2 setback.

Blues - Dalibor Dvorsky

He hails from the same hometown in Slovakia - Zvolen - as injured Flames forward Martin Pospisil, and Dvorsky is starting to find his stride in the NHL.

The 20-year-old scored his first NHL goal Nov. 3 against the Oilers, then notched his second in the Blues' last outing Saturday versus Seattle.

He was the No. 10 pick by St. Louis in the 2023 NHL Draft.