Blues 2, Flames 0
Brian Elliott made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season and captain David Backes recorded a shorthanded goal and an assist as the St. Louis Blues posted a 2-0 victory over the visiting Calgary Flames on Friday.
Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo also scored for St. Louis, which has won eight of its last 10 home games and improved to 6-1-2 under coach Ken Hitchcock.
Elliott entered as the league leader in goals-against average (1.48) and save percentage (.946). He turned aside nine shots in the first period, four in the second and 11 in the third en route to his 12th career shutout.
The 26-year-old owns a 9-1-0 record and has allowed two goals or less in each of his 11 appearances this season.
After former Blue Lee Stempniak hit the right post during a power play midway through the first, Backes poked a loose puck around defenseman T.J. Brodie along the left wing boards in the neutral zone and beat Miikka Kiprusoff high to the glove side on a breakaway for a 1-0 lead.
Pietrangelo doubled the advantage with 6:43 remaining in the third, converting a pass from behind the net by Alex Steen.
Kiprusoff made 22 saves for Calgary, which has lost six of eight and fell to 0-3-0 on its four-game road trip.