5 Things - Flames @ Blues 14.01.25

1. Heckuva Start

Three straight wins.

And this last one came in convincing fashion.

The Flames opened this four-game road trip with a commanding 5-2 victory over the Blackhawks, controlling the game from the opening faceoff as they swept the season series with Chicago 3-0.

Jakob Pelletier scored a pair of goals, while Jake Bean, Mikael Backlund and Yegor Sharangovich also lit the lamp, with Dustin Wolf continuing his dominant play of late with a 23-save performance.

He's 6-1-1 in his last eight outings.

Rookie Rory Kerins had a big night, collecting assists on both of Pelletier's goals in his NHL debut.

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"Good for him," said head coach Ryan Huska after the win. "I thought that line was excellent tonight, and I thought he was a big reason why. He made some composed plays with the puck, but he made smart plays, too. He wasn’t looking to do anything that was high-risk. I really liked his game tonight."

One area the Flames have looked to improve on this season is first-period goalscoring. On Monday night, they struck for a trio of tallies in the opening 20 minutes.

"Yeah, we’ll take that," said Huska. "We’ve struggled to score goals in first periods this year, for whatever reason, so getting the three is important for us, and I think that kinda set our game up from there."

2. Know Your Enemy

The Blues haven’t played since Saturday, when they fell 2-1 to the visiting Blue Jackets.

Adam Fantilli scored in the first period and Cole Sillinger added another in the second for C-Bus, with Colton Parayko notching a third-period powerplay marker to cut the deficit for St. Louis, but that’s as close as they would get.

With the loss, the Blues are now 9-10-1 at home, and 5-4-1 in their last 10 outings.

“The lack of urgency in our group is what’s hurting us in our consistency,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery told NHL.com. “You look at the way we came out against Anaheim (in a 6-2 win on Thursday), there was a direct purpose to what we were doing. Tonight there was not. It was wait and see. And that urgency (of) us fearing losing is something that’s got to become part of our fiber if we want to get to the consistent level we want to be at.”

“We got (out) to a great start last game and kind of set the tone for the whole game,” said forward Robert Thomas, who is second in team scoring with 11 goals and 32 points in 32 games. “We weren’t able to do that tonight and it’s frustrating. We need to find a way to be consistent for the whole 60 minutes. It’s hard fighting back when you’re down.

"We had some good pushes but weren’t able to score. Just got to come out stronger.”

Jordan Kyrou leads St. Louis with 19 goals and 38 points in 44 games, while Dylan Holloway is thirdin that department. More on him in Player To Watch below.

And here's a neat stat from NHL.com: Blues defenceman Ryan Suter played his 1,488th game on Saturday, passing Wayne Gretzky for 24th on the NHL list.

3. Fast Facts

Howlin' For You:

With his 23-save effort last night, Dustin Wolf (15-6-2 in 23 GP) has become the fourth different Flames goaltender to record 15 wins in a season in 23 games or fewer. He has joined Dan Bouchard (21 GP in 1978-79), Miika Kiprusoff (22 GP in 2003-04 & 23 GP in 2009-10) and Mike Vernon (23 GP in 1988-89).

Rare Company:

Yegor Sharangovich registered a shorthanded marker last night in Chicago to score his 91st career goal. With nine more tallies, Sharangovich can become just the third skater of Belarussian descent in NHL history to reach the 100-goal plateau and join: Mikhail Grabovski (125) and Andrei Kostitsyn (103).

4. 'Tender Moments

Several netminders have spent time in the crease for both the Atlanta/Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues. Jon Gilles (CGY: 2016-2018, STL: 2021-22), Chad Johnson (CGY: 2016-17, STL: 2018-19), Fred Brathwaite (CGY: 1999-2001, STL: 2001-2003), Grant Fuhr (CGY: 1999-00, STL: 1995-1999), Brian Elliott (CGY: 2016-17, STL: 2011-2016), Jamie McLennan (CGY: 2002-2004, 2006-07, STL: 1997-2000), Curtis Joseph (CGY: 2007-08, STL: 1989-1995), Rick Wamsley (CGY: 1987-1992, STL: 1984-1988), Roman Turek (CGY: 2001-2004, STL: 1999-2001), Yves Bélanger (ATL: 1977-79, STL: 1947-78), Phil Myre (ATL: 1972-78, STL: 1977-1979).

5. Players To Watch

Flames – Jakob Pelletier

Two goals and an assist – not a bad night's work.

Although, this should perhaps be 'Line To Watch" instead of 'Player To Watch.'

Pelletier talked about the chemistry between himself and Rory Kerins after the victory in Chicago, the two, of course, combining on the first two goals in the victory in Chicago and looking electric all night playing on a line centred by Yegor Sharangovich, who was also excellent against the Blackhawks with a goal and an assist.

The trio combined for seven points in the victory.

"It’s kinda similar to the Wranglers, to be honest, we played together with the Wranglers and it kinda showed tonight," said Pelletier of Kerins. "I think we kinda know where the other is going to be, before we go there, so it’s nice."

Blues - Dylan Holloway

The Calgary native and former Oiler has be a nice addition to St. Louis this season after the team signed him to a two-year deal after Edmonton declined to match an offer sheet this past summer.

He is third in team scoring with 15 goals and 32 points in 44 games this season, and has a goal and six points in his last five outings.