St. Louis Blues Game 3/82: Tuesday, October 13, 8:00 PM CT at Calgary Flames
The St. Louis Blues head into Calgary on Tuesday night looking to return to a winning record in this young 2015-16 season. After starting strong with a home win over the Edmonton Oilers last Thursday, the Blues suffered a disappointing 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in what began a six-game road trip.
The Blues will continue that trip on Tuesday with a voyage into Canada, where they’ll play their next five games. They’ll take on a developing Flames team that made it back into the playoffs in 2014-15 and like the Blues, has a 1-1 record to start this year. The Blues were 3-0 against Calgary in 2014-15, outscoring them by a total of 12-2, so they’ll look to carry that success over into the new season. The Blues will have to contend with forward Johnny Gaudreau, who despite being severely undersized (5’9, 150), has emerged as Calgary’s best player and leads them in points through their first two games. He’s looking to follow up on a breakout 2014-15 in which he scored 24 goals and added 40 assists over 80 games.
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The Blues will have to replace rookie forwardRobby Fabbrion Tuesday, who has hit a bump in the road after just two NHL games, being diagnosed with a concussion following Saturday’s meeting with the Wild. Fabbri is likely to be replaced by veteran forwardScottie Upshallagainst Calgary, who will be making his regular season debut with the Blues.
One of the Blues’ key players thus far has been rookie defensemanColton Parayko. The 6-foot-5, 226-pounder has been an impactful physical presence and is second only toKevin Shattenkirkin shots among Blues’ defensemen, having taken five attempts at the net through two games. While the original plan seemed to be to rotate Parayko, fellow rookieJoel Edmundson,Robert Bortuzzo, and possiblyCarl Gunnarsson, Parayko is making it difficult to take him out of the lineup, and he’s expected to be back in for a third straight game on Tuesday. Coach Ken Hitchcock told reporters on Monday that Parayko would likely team with Edmundson on the third defensive pairing against Calgary, with Bortuzzo serving as a healthy scratch for the second time in three games.
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Brian Elliottwill be back in goal for the Blues on Tuesday, and he’ll have a real chance to gain an edge in the goaltending battle withJake Allen. Elliott held the Oilers to one goal on 24 shots on Thursday, while Allen allowed three goals on 19 shots at Minnesota on Saturday. Thus, another great performance at Calgary could give him the early edge in terms of earning starts.
Here’s a preview of how the Blues’ lines may look against Calgary on Tuesday:
Alexander Steen-Paul Stastny–Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz–Jori Lehtera–Troy Brouwer
Scottie Upshall–David Backes–Dmitrij Jaskin
Steve Ott–Kyle Brodziak–Ryan Reaves
Alex Pietrangelo–Jay Bouwmeester
Carl Gunnarsson–Kevin Shattenkirk
Joel Edmundson-Colton Parayko
Brian Elliott
Next: Blues Forward Robby Fabbri Diagnosed with Concussion
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