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For the second time in as many nights the Calgary Flames picked up a road win against a Central Division contender.
The Flames pounced on the Blues early scoring a pair of first period goals and never looked back en route to a 4-1 victory.
The Good
- For the second time in as many nights Brian Elliott was excellent. Starting a goaltender back-to-back nights, especially against strong teams, doesn't always work out well but it certainly did this time around. Elliott wasn't as busy vs St. Louis as he was in Chicago but he was good when called upon and did what he had to do.
After a brutal start to the season Elliott has stopped 54-57 (.947SV%) over the last two games.
- The Flames don't have a lot of scoring depth up front so they're going to need offense from the defense. Luckily they got it last night, although not from the usual contributors, as Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland both scored. A lot of pressure will be taken off the big guns if the Flames can get consistent production from the back end.
- After a slow start to the season Sam Bennett is really taking off. He has two goals and five points over his last three games and has been a consistent force/very disruptive on the forecheck. He has been working really well with Troy Brouwer on the 2nd unit.
- Matthew Tkachuk's return home was a big success. The Flames controlled almost 55% of the shot attempts at 5 v 5 with Tkachuk on the ice. He also had a few scoring chances, picked up his first career assist and did a really good job getting under the skin of the opposition (surprise, surprise). If he continues to play like he did last night it's going to be tough for the Flames to send him back to junior.
- The Flames' play with the puck has really improved over the last couple games. Their passes are more precise and there have been fewer careless giveaways like we saw in the first few games (most notably against Edmonton). You don't want to limit the creativity of the team's skill players, obviously, but good things tend to happen when you manage the puck and don't throw possessions away.
- The Flames beat two of the best teams in the West, Chicago and St. Louis, in their own buildings on back-to-back nights. Who saw this coming after the way they started the year?
The Bad
- The Flames followed up a good first 40 minutes with a bad final frame. They sat back with the lead a little too much and got into serious penalty trouble, which made things a little more interesting than they needed to be. Teams often are on their heels a little bit while playing with the lead but the Flames don't need to add fuel to the fire by taking bad penalties.
- The Lance Bouma - Matt Stajan - Michael Ferland line was caved in at even-strength as they were out attempted 8-1 and out chanced 4-0 by St. Louis. That's not going to cut it.
- Bouma played more than Kris Versteeg. I know Bouma plays on the penalty kill but Versteeg is much more skilled (see his assist on Engelland's goal) and more productive so this shouldn't be a thing.
Stat Of The Game
Bennett's five shots vs St. Louis tied his previous career high (he had five in a game against Florida last season). Bennett has a good shot so it's nice to see him using it.
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