Blues wrap up road trip with 3-1 victory over Flames
CALGARY, Alberta — St. Louis goalie Jake Allen rebounded at the Calgary Flames' expense.
Pulled after allowing four first-period goals in a home loss to Calgary last Sunday and after giving up another four goals Thursday in a loss at Vancouver, Allen made 28 saves in the Blues' 3-1 victory over the Flames on Saturday.
"We rebounded really well against a really good team here in Calgary, probably one of the hottest teams in the league," Allen said. "They kicked our butt pretty good in our own rink a couple weeks ago. It's just going to be a good feeling now to have a couple days off."
David Perron had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Bozak and Oskar Sundqvist also scored to help St. Louis finish 2-1-0 on their trip through Western Canada. Perron has nine goals and 11 assists in 16 games against Calgary since the start of the 2014-15 season.
"It's definitely coming for sure," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "This team has really good character. We've got some veterans who have been around a while. They know how to win."
Matthew Tkachuk scored his 16th goal for Calgary. The Flames have lost three straight. Calgary lost for the first time in regulation at home since Nov. 15, ending a 7-0-2 string.
"Just because we played well against a guy a couple days ago, doesn't mean it's going to automatically translate into today's game," Tkachuk said. "Maybe had it in the back of our minds that if we shot everything, some would go in, but I think we need to get more bodies (to the net)."
St. Louis opened the scoring 4:06 into the game. Perron gloved down a puck that had deflected high in the air and wristed a shot from inside 20 feet that beat goalie Mike Smith on the short-side. The Blues made it 2-0 at 11:43 when Bozak chipped in a rebound after Pat Maroon curled out from behind the net and had his initial shot stopped.
The Flames scored with 3:11 left in the first. On their first power play of the day, they needed just seven seconds to convert with Tkachuk steering in a centering feed from Elias Lindholm.
The Blues got some insurance two minutes into the third. Smith couldn't control the rebound of Sundqvist's 40-foot slap shot and when the puck popped back into the slot, Sundqvist converted.
NOTES: Flames LW Michael Frolik (ankle) returned after missing 15 games. ... St. Louis is 11-1-2 when leading after two periods.
Bozak: "It's nice to go into Christmas feeling pretty good, and a little bit of confidence there for us. Calgary's a heck of a team and we did a really good job, so I'm proud of the guys tonight." #stlblues pic.twitter.com/sMzGf69D7j
— FOX Sports Midwest (@FSMidwest) December 23, 2018
UP NEXT
Blues: Host Buffalo on Thursday night.
Flames: At Winnipeg on Thursday night.
