Flames find way by Blues, win second in row

CALGARY-- Dougie Hamilton scored a tiebreaking goal 7:57 into the third period, and the Calgary Flames defeated the St. Louis Blues 2-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday.

Michael Frolik scored, and Mike Smith made 21 saves and for the Flames (18-14-3), who have won two in a row following a three-game losing streak.
"You try to get into a Stanley Cup] Playoff spot as early in the season as we can and try to keep getting points as much as we can," Hamilton said. "That's the biggest thing. Games are worth the same now as at the end of the year."
***[WATCH: [All Blues vs. Flames highlights]*
Brayden Schenn scored, and Carter Hutton made 31 saves for the Blues (22-12-2), who are 1-4-0 in their past five games after a four-game winning streak.
"We're just not good enough and we're not going to win hockey games until we get on the right track," St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said. "If you've got a couple guys out of the lineup, that's one thing. That's no excuse. It's a matter of making sure that you're prepared to play the right way and to play that way for 60 minutes and we haven't been doing that."
Hamilton broke a 1-1 tie when he slapped a rebound away from Blues forward Ivan Barbashev.
"I thought a shot was coming and went to the slot to see what would come from it and it bounced out," Hamilton said. "I just whacked at it. I didn't even see it go in. I don't know what the goalie was doing or what was going on there, but it was nice to have that go in and get the two points."

Smith made a blocker save on Alexander Steen's snap shot from the high slot 1:15 after Hamilton's goal.
Frolik put Calgary up 1-0 at 7:58 of the first period. Hutton made a blocker save on Frolik's shot, but Joel Edmundson swiped the rebound off Hutton's shoulder. Play continued for 40 seconds before video review confirmed the puck crossed the goal line before Blues forward Tage Thompson was able to bat the puck out of the net.
"I've had a few where they have to challenge it, but never like that when you keep playing and then all of a sudden the buzzer goes on," Frolik said. "I was just like, 'Something's wrong, I guess.' Guys at the bench were yelling at me that it was in."
Schenn tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 1:26 of the second period when he stickhandled around Troy Brouwer at Calgary's blue line and shot off the inside of the post. Schenn leads St. Louis with 17 goals.
"Just Brouwer, a forward standing flat-footed and you try him one-on-one," Schenn said. "I was able to beat him and get a quick shot off and that's kind of all it was."

Goal of the game

Hamilton's goal at 7:57 of the third period.

Save of the game

Smith's save on Steen at 9:12 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Schenn's goal at 1:26 of the second period.

They said it

"Always against them it's pretty tight and they don't give up much. We just stayed patient. We had a few chances and didn't give them that much. We tried to stack it in the neutral zone and I think we did a pretty good job there. Be patient, and luckily we got the second one and came out with the win." -- Flames forward Michael Frolik
"Simply not good enough. We didn't really sustain any pressure, get many chances. Five-on-5 we still continue to struggle. We're obviously playing on the perimeter too much and simply not playing hard enough. That results in losing hockey and getting worked and giving up shots and getting outshot." -- Blues forward Brayden Schenn

Need to know

Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic left the game at 13:47 of the first period with a groin injury. Coach Glen Gulutzan said Hamonic was removed as "a little bit of a precaution." … Smith is 2-2-2 with 10 goals against in his past six games. … St. Louis has at least one power-play goal in each of its past five games at Calgary. … Flames forward Sean Monahan got an assist for his first point in six games after getting 14 (nine goals, five assists) in his previous 11. … Flames forward Jaromir Jagr did not play because of a nagging lower-body injury. Jagr, who has missed 13 of Calgary's past 27 games, needs 38 games to pass Gordie Howe (1,767) for the most games played in NHL history.

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What's next

Blues: At the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Flames: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)