Blues at Flames
The St. Louis Blues will be without leading scorer Alex Steen when they conclude a two-game road swing through Alberta with a visit to the Calgary Flames on Monday. Steen, who ranks second in the league with 24 goals, suffered an upper-body injury in Saturday's 6-0 drubbing of the Edmonton Oilers and is listed as day-to-day. "We'll review it right after Christmas and decide what we're going to do there," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of Steen's injury. "We'll see how it goes."
Despite the caliber of the opposition, Calgary will be relieved to return home after dropping the final four contests of its five-game road trip. The Flames, who are kicking off a five-game homestand, were not far from enjoying a successful trek, falling in overtime twice and losing a one-goal decision to Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh on Saturday. Calgary has lost five of the last six matchups against the Blues, but it won the last meeting at home on March 24.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), RSN (Calgary)
ABOUT THE BLUES (24-7-4): Red-hot Chris Stewart helped ease the loss of Steen by registering his third career hat trick against Edmonton, giving him eight goals in his last six games. “You get into streaks like that, you just start shooting it, pucks find a way to go in," Stewart said. "I kind of had a rough start to the year, and I told myself I wasn't going to pass up any more opportunities in the slot, I'm going to shoot to score, and it's been working out as of late." Jaden Schwartz also is on a hot streak with six goals in his last 10 contests.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (13-17-6): Calgary will be short-handed after forward Curtis Glencross and defenseman Kris Russell both suffered injuries to their left legs in Saturday's game. Glencross, who missed 15 games earlier this season with a left knee injury, was placed on injured reserve and Russell also has been ruled out. “Where would we be without Kris Russell?” coach Bob Hartley asked. "When’s the last time that you can remember a bad play from Kris Russell that resulted in a goal? ... Obviously, it's a huge loss."
OVERTIME
1. Blues G Jaroslav Halak, who is 3-5-0 lifetime against Calgary, will start Monday.
2. St. Louis held off a third-period comeback to beat visiting Calgary 3-2 on Nov. 7.
3. The Flames recalled D Derek Smith from Abbotsford of the American Hockey League.