Calgary @ St. Louis preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 11, 2018 ) Calgary 3, St. Louis 5

The Calgary Flames have shown they can win games in several different ways during their hot streak and hope to find another when they visit the improving St. Louis Blues on Sunday afternoon. The Flames have scored at least five goals in six wins during an 11-2-1 surge and limited opponents to fewer than two tallies five times, including a 2-1 triumph at Minnesota on Saturday.

“If we need goals, we can get them, but more nights than not, we want to play tight-checking defensively and create our offense that way,” Calgary captain Mark Giordano told reporters after scoring a short-handed goal for the second straight game on Saturday. “We know we can do it.” The Flames have seized first place in the Pacific Division with their run but will be looking for revenge after losing 5-3 at St. Louis on Oct. 11 - the only victory for the Blues in their first six games of the season. St. Louis has won two in a row and three of four, with all the victories coming by one goal - including a 4-3 overtime triumph against Colorado on Friday as Ryan O’Reilly scored the winner while short-handed. “We’ve just got to build off these wins,” Blues interim coach Craig Berube told reporters. “We’re believing in each other. We’re starting to come around with our team game. We’re understanding how we want to play. We’ve got a long way to go, we’ve got a lot of improving to do.”

TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Calgary), FS Midwest (St. Louis)

ABOUT THE FLAMES (21-10-2): Giordano, who is the first Calgary defenseman to score a short-handed goal in back-to-back contests, has recorded two tallies and seven assists during his four-game point streak. Johnny Gaudreau was kept off the scoresheet Saturday but has notched 16 of his team-best 42 points in the last 10 contests while Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal against Minnesota to tie Sean Monahan for second on the team with 38 points. The Flames could get Mikael Backlund (concussion) and goaltender Mike Smith (undisclosed) back as early as Sunday.

ABOUT THE BLUES (12-14-4): O’Reilly registered two points on Friday, matching his total from the previous six games and pushing his team-leading total to 31, while Vladimir Tarasenko has failed to notch a point in six games this month. Jaden Schwartz has recorded three assists in two contests since returning from an 11-game injury absence while Ivan Barbashev has scored in back-to-back contests. Defenseman Joel Edmundson, who has missed two games with an upper-body injury, could return to the lineup against Calgary.

OVERTIME

1. The Blues signed D Robert Bortuzzo (three points, 12 games) to a three-year contract extension worth $4.125 million on Saturday.

2. Calgary C Sam Bennett is one point shy of 100 for his career but has registered just one in seven games this month.

3. St. Louis LW Patrick Maroon, who has recorded just one goal in 24 contests this season, is slated to play in his 400th NHL game on Sunday while D Colton Parayko, who scored twice on Friday, is two tallies away from matching the career high of nine he set in 2015-16.

PREDICTION: Flames 4, Blues 2