Frolik's hat trick leads Flames past Blues

CALGARY -- Michael Frolik had a hat trick, including two shorthanded goals, to help the Calgary Flames to a 7-4 win against the St. Louis Blues at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday.
Sean Monahan had two goals, and Joe Colborne and Mark Giordano scored for the Flames (29-35-5). Dougie Hamilton and Johnny Gaudreau each had three assists.

"We were poor," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Poor today."
Monahan broke a 2-2 tie 5:13 into the second period, beating Blues goalie Jake Allen over his glove with a wrist shot from 27 feet out.

Giordano gave the Flames a 4-2 lead on a power play six minutes later on a point shot that deflected off a stick before getting by Allen. Hitchcock challenged that Colborne interfered with Allen prior to the goal, but the referee confirmed no goaltender interference occurred.
Allen, who had won his past six starts, was pulled after allowing four goals on 17 shots. He was replaced by Anders Nilsson.
Monahan scored his second of the period at 13:37. Hamilton found Monahan behind the Blues defense with an outlet pass from his own end, and Monahan shot through Nilsson's five-hole on the breakaway to give the Flames a 5-2 lead.
"We were skating and we capitalized on some chances that were huge for us," Monahan said. "We played with the lead and tried to play smart, stay disciplined and work together as a group."

The Blues had a goal waved off late in the period because the referee judged that David Backes interfered with goaltender Joni Ortio on the play.
"Look, I'm completely confused on both calls," Hitchcock said. "Someone needs to maybe sometime tomorrow explain to all of us the two calls…the one at the end of the period on their net and the one just before it on our net. I think we need an explanation so that we can get clearance on what's a goal and what's not a goal.
"The call on the coach's challenge…it's pretty easy for us because we're standing on the bench and there's a television right below my feet. We looked at it three times. And then the one on Backes…wow."
St. Louis tried to rally in the third period. On the power play, Shattenkirk took a cross-ice pass from Jaden Schwartz and shot by a diving Ortio to cut the lead to 5-3 at 3:28.

The Blues made it 5-4 with Stastny's second of the game on a breakaway at 13:31.
Schwartz hit the post on a power play at 15:14, and Frolik scored his second shorthanded goal of the game at 16:49, beating Nilsson with a quick deke before lifting the puck into the top corner. It was the same move he used on Allen late in the first period.
"It's kind of my move, this one," Frolik said. "I think if it had been the same goalie I would've probably done something different, but it was a different goalie so why not try it again. It worked out. It's good."
Prior to Frolik, the last time a Flames player scored two shorthanded goals in the same game was Cory Stillman on Jan. 9, 1998.

Frolik scored into an empty net with 35 seconds remaining to complete the hat trick.
"It's always nice when you can score three," Frolik said. "It's always nice to see the hats on the ice. I'm just happy I could help the team win tonight."
Colborne put the Flames up 1-0 midway through the first. Allen left his net to play a high dump-in, but the puck hit a stanchion, bounced out into the slot and onto the stick of Colborne, who shot the puck into the vacated net at 10:24.

The lead lasted nine seconds. Upshall retrieved a dump-in by Colton Parayko and beat Ortio from a sharp angle just below the faceoff circle to tie the game at 1-1.
St. Louis went up 2-1 at 12:14. Ortio stopped Troy Brouwer's initial shot, but the rebound hit an official's skate and bounced to Stastny, who sent a backhand by a scrambling Ortio.
Frolik tied the game at 2-2 with a deke on a shorthanded breakaway 4:28 later.