Calgary -175
St. Louis (16-14-5) moved out of last place in the Western Conference with a 3-1 victory at Vancouver on Sunday, then won 7-2 at Edmonton on Monday. That marked the Blues’ best offensive output since a 7-4 victory over Chicago on Jan. 12, 2004.
St. Louis picked up a rare home win last Tuesday, 4-3 over Calgary, as McDonald and Steen snapped respective goal droughts of 14 and 12 games.
However I'm expecting a "letdown" this evening in a building they've traditionally really struggled in.
It's true that St. Louis is 5-1 its last six on the road, but it always struggles against Calgary; 3-14 its last 17 vs. the Flames.
On the other side of the rink: The Flames (20-11-4) are coming off a 5-3 loss to Nashville at the Saddledome on Saturday, their first regulation defeat there since Nov. 19. Calgary has gone 1-3-1 since winning six of eight; I'm expecting a "bounce-back" this evening.
The Flames had a chance to win Saturday with the score tied at 3 after two periods, but allowed two third-period goals. That has been a common theme lately for Calgary, which was outscored 4-1 in the third during the last three games.
Kiprusoff was not in net against the Blues last week, but went 6-1-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average in his last seven home matchups with them.
Keep in mind though that Calgary is 7-1 its last eight vs. St. Louis at the Saddledome.
Bottom line: So with "revenge" on their minds off last Tuesday's loss, I expect a concerted effort from the Flames on both sides of the ice in front of the hometown crowd; look for CALGARY to improve to 4-1 (+2 units) when playing three or more days of rest and for St. Louis to fall to 1-8 (-9 units) after a win by two goals or more in its previous contest.
7* FLAMES
points are welcome
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