Flames Gameday: Calgary hosts a St. Louis Blues team running neck-and-neck with the Flames in the wild-card chase

Flames (21-20-5, 47 points) versus St. Louis Blues (22-20-2, 46 points)

Jacob Markstrom is due back between the pipes when the Flames kick off the second half of their six-game homestand.

Markstrom missed a trio of games due to a lower-body injury suffered in the Jan. 15 practice. In the 10 previous outings after suffering a broken finger on Dec. 4 that sidelined him for two weeks, Markstrom posted a 7-3-0 record and sparkling .936 save percentage.

With Martin Pospisil injured, Dillon Dube having left the team for mental health issues and Andrew Mangiapane unable to practice on Monday, forward Cole Schwindt was recalled from the AHL Wranglers.

Schwindt, who has collected eight goals and 20 points with the Wranglers this season, was acquired from the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2022 blockbuster swap and looking to play his first game for Calgary. He played three while with the Panthers organization.

Mangiapane hit the ice for Tuesday's morning skate, and Schwindt is slated to play at centre on the fourth line in place of the struggling Adam Ruzicka.

The Blues won the first meeting of the season, a 3-0 game in Calgary on Oct. 26.

St. Louis is as much in the hunt for a playoff spot as the Flames, but struggled on the road, with an 8-12-1 record away from the Gateway to the West.

The Blues have won nine of the last 11 meetings and six of the last seven in the Saddledome.

Since Drew Bannister took over the coaching duties after Craig Berube was fired, the Blues have posted a 9-6-1 record. In those 16 games, Jordan Kyrou has collected seven goals and 16 points.

Here’s a look at Calgary’s expected lineup:
Forwards:
Jonathan Huberdeau-Elias Lindholm-Yegor Sharangovich
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Connor Zary-Nazem Kadri-Matt Coronato
A.J. Greer-Cole Schwindt-Adam Klapka
Extra: Adam Ruzicka
Defence:
Rasmus Andersson-MacKenzie Weegar
Noah Hanifin-Chris Tanev
Jordan Oesterle-Dennis Gilbert
Extra: Nick DeSimone
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
Markstrom has a 4-8-2 career record against St. Louis with a 2.93 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. Vladar won his lone game against St. Louis, a 4-1 affair last January.

Here is the potential roster for the Blues:
Forwards:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours
Nathan Walker-Kevin Hayes-Alexey Toropchenko
Nikita Alexandrov-Oskar Sundqvist-Adam Gaudette
Defence:
Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko
Torey Krug-Justin Faulk
Marco Scandella-Matt Kessel
Goal:
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
Binnington boasts an 4-1-0 record, with one shutout, 3.31 GAA and .899 SvPct. against Calgary. Hofer’s lone game against Calgary was the 3-0 victory in October, a 27-save performance in his only career shutout so far.

ICE CHIPS: The Blues have an impressive 18-2-0 record when scoring first this season and 17-1-0 mark when leading through two periods … Both the Blues and Flames have scored 10 short-handed goals, and both have horrible power plays. Calgary has the worst home power-play mark at 11.1%, while the Blues have the second worst road power-play mark at 10.6%. That said, St. Louis has a 6-for-17 mark in its last five games.