Travelling to Calgary and beating the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome is never easy for the Blues, or any team for that matter. The Blues will need to be sharp and skate hard on Friday night in order to come away with their second consecutive win. Here are three keys to a Blues victory against the Calgary Flames.
1. Get Jake Allen off to a good start.
In each of his first two games for the Blues, the 22-year-old goaltender has allowed the first shot on goal to score. With Brian Elliott struggling, and Jaroslav Halak injured (and not playing well when healthy) it is imperative that Allen shows he play at an NHL level.
The Blues have scored the second-most goals in the Western Conference so far this season, so they won’t need a shutout every night from Allen; a decent performance should be enough most nights.
2. Make quick line changes.
Because of the condensed schedule, it is important that the Blues distribute the time on ice more evenly than they would in a typical season, resting the star players so that they will be fresh at the end of the season. Although the Blues started out the season doing so, recently they have been relying more heavily on their top lines.
David Backes did not play 20 minutes in any of his first five games, but has done so in five of the last eight. Similarly, Jaden Schwartz was on the ice for at least 10 minutes in five of his first six games, but only once in his last four, as he has seen his playing time drastically lowered.
The Blues are one of the deepest teams in the NHL, and need to let their lower lines see more of the ice if the want to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup.
3. Slow down Mike Cammalleri.
Cammalleri had three goals and an assist in Wednesday’s win over Dallas, in his first game back from injury. Cammalleri has nine points in only eight games so far this season, and a red-hot Cammalleri could give the Blues’ defense fits.
If the Blues are able to do these three things, look for them to come away with a victory.
