Preview: Blues at Flames

BLUES  In a night centered on honoring past legends of the franchise, the St. Louis Blues stepped up to the moment. Playing a hard 60 minutes against the visiting Washington Capitals on Saturday, the Blues earned a 3-0 shutout win.

After a 5-2 loss in Washington on Thursday in which special teams play made much of the difference, the Blues’ special teams delivered. Colton Parayko got the Blues on the board with his first career shorthanded goal and Jake Neighbours tipped in a power-play goal to help drive the victory.

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Binnington’s shutout, his second of the season and No. 14 of his NHL career, moves him into sole possession of fifth on the Blues’ all-time leaderboard. Mike Liut, who was in attendance for his induction to the Blues Hall of Fame and represents Binnington as his agent, shares ninth.

“That was a tremendous effort top to bottom,” said Binnington. “We really bought in, we played the right way and we were successful.”

The Blues defense also stepped up, allowing just 18 shots on goal to help Binnington earn his shutout. He now sits two shy of Glenn Hall – inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame Class of 2023 – for fourth place in Blues history.

After snapping their three-game losing streak, the Blues have some upward momentum going with them on a three-game road trip to the Pacific Northwest. The journey begins in Calgary on Tuesday to start a back-to-back, continues in Vancouver on Wednesday and the trip concludes in Seattle on Friday. Calgary and Seattle both sit a single point ahead of the Blues in the Western Conference Wild Card standings as of Monday afternoon, so this trip represents a major opportunity to get back in the playoff hunt.

The Blues face the Flames with a record of 22-20-2, worth 46 points and sixth in the Central Division.

FLAMES  The Calgary Flames have sparked some momentum over the last month. Dating back to a 4-3 win over Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve, the Flames are 7-4-0 in their last 11 games for the seventh-most points in the NHL in that span.

Despite their overall good play in January, the Flames have lost their last two games and hope to avoid their first three-game losing streak since Dec. 14. First came a 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs in which the Flames were up 2-0 in the first period. Auston Matthews quickly heated up, however, scoring a hat trick to drive the comeback win at the Saddledome.

In their second matchup of the season with their provincial rival Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Flames fell 3-1 despite the rare feat of keeping both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the score sheet. MacKenzie Weegar scored his 10th goal of the season to get the Flames on the board, extending his career high as he builds a strong second season in Calgary.

Among the top storylines for the Flames this season has been the performance of forward Blake Coleman, leading the team with 39 points to already exceed his career high from last season. The 32-year-old forward clinched his third career 20-goal season in a win at Vegas last Saturday and is up to seven points in his last five games.

The Flames are in the middle of a six-game homestand, with two remaining after Tuesday’s matchup with the Blues.

They will host St. Louis with a record of 21-20-5, worth 47 points and fifth in the Pacific Division.

HEAD TO HEAD The Blues beat the Flames 3-0 in Calgary earlier this season, with Joel Hofer making 27 saves for the first complete shutout of his NHL career. Going back to Dec. 22, 2018, the Blues are 9-2-0 in 11 games against the Flames and have have won their last three matchups in Calgary.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES  Jake Neighbours, who tipped in his team-high fourth power-play goal of the season on Saturday night. The Calgary native only trails Robert Thomas atop the team goals leaderboard this season with 14 – including two in his last four games.

FLAMES  Elias Lindholm, selected to represent the Flames in next month’s All-Star festivities. Lindholm’s 22 assists lead the Flames this season, including four in his last five games.

BLUE NOTES

• Oskar Sundqvist is expected to dress in his 400th career game on Tuesday
• The Blues have not allowed a power play goal in their last six games against the Flames, going 12-for-12 on the penalty kill over that span
• The Blues’ 10 shorthanded goals this season are the most they have had in a season since they had 10 in 2008-09, currently sharing second in the NHL this year. The last time the Blues had 11 or more shorthanded goals in a season was 2002-03
• The Blues power play is 11-for-47 (23.4%) since Drew Bannister was named interim head coach on Dec. 14, which shares 10th in the NHL. Before Bannister took over, the Blues power play was 7-for-83 (8.4%), which ranked 31st in the NHL
• The Blues will play multiple games in a row on the road for the first time since Dec. 19 and 21 in Tampa Bay and Florida. Including Tuesday at Calgary, the Blues will play six of their next eight games on the road