The Blues traveled to Calgary to face-off against the Flames, who made it one round further than the Blues last post-season. A 4-3 victory gave the Blues their first away win of the season. With Robby Fabbri concussed, Hitchcock made the right choice by playing Scottie Upshall. Upshall proved himself “Blues-worthy” during camps, having played for the Florida Panthers last year. Another new face, Colton Parayko, came up clutch.
1:14 into the first period, Mason Raymond of the Flames gave his team the early lead with a tic-tac feed from Dennis Wideman. The Blues put pressure on the Flames’ defense, and were rewarded when Upshall swatted one past the Flames goaltender, Hiller. Scottie was chosen to replace Fabbri, and like Fabbri, he scored in his first game as a Blue.
On the Flame’s fourth (yes… their fourth) power play of the first period, Jiri Hudler of the Flames made it 2-1 just 45 seconds after Upshall’s goal. Blues: if you give a team 8 minutes of power play time in one period, that team will probably score- unless they are the Maple Leafs.
In the second period, Backes assisted Brouwer, who scored on a breakaway. However, Shattenkirk blocked a shot and left the game early with a “lower body injury”. His situation will be evaluated and announced on Wednesday. With the game tied 2-2, Parayko scored his first NHL goal from the blue line during a power play. But one goal wasn’t enough for the rookie. In a similar shot, Parayko made it 4-2 heading into the third. The 6’5 defender is only 22.
David Jones of the Flames scored with a snapshot 1:42 into the third, but neither team could produce a goal the rest of the game. It was a tough game to win. Although the Flames aren’t known for fighting, like the Wild, they finish every check. Regardless, the new guys came up big producing all of the goals.
The Blues will meet up with Connor McDavid and the Oilers again on Thursday, October 15, 8:00 p.m. Stay updated on Shattenkirk’s injury and get live updates/commentary during games by following @bluesbuzzblog on Twitter.
