ST. LOUIS -- After a successful road trip winning three of four in some tough buildings, the Blues (20-18-3) will get quite acquainted with the confines of home.
And it's time to start making a mark at Enterprise Center if they want to be relevant in the playoff chase.
The Blues open a stretch of seven in a row here and 14 of the next 19 games at home when they entertain the Calgary Flames (19-14-8) today at 7 p.m. (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM). The Flames will also be here Thursday.
The Blues are 13-10-1 away from home, tied for third in the league (Vegas, 15; New Jersey, 14) in road wins, but their home record leaves a little to be desired at just 7-8-2.
It all starts tonight against the Flames, who are three points ahead of the Blues in the standings in what will be the second of three meetings this season. The Blues won 5-2 in Calgary on Dec. 16.
"They're a good team, we all know that," Blues coach Craig Berube said of the Flames. "We went into Calgary earlier a while back and we got a win there, but we're going to see a better team than we saw then. The trades they made, those guys are playing better now. They got (Chris) Tanev back; they were missing him when we played them. They're a solid team. You've got to play good in all three zones against them, you know what you're going to get from them. They're going to be a hard-checking team, they're going to come hard on the forecheck and they've got some pretty high end players that can make you pay offensively if you don't check them properly. We're going to have to play a solid game."
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The numbers speak for themselves for a trio of Blues (Brandon Saad, Brayden Schenn and Ivan Barbashev), who have picked up the slack as a line in the absence of Ryan O'Reilly (broken foot) and Vladimir Tarasenko (hand injury) since those players departed four games ago.
The line itself has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) the past four games but Saad is on quite a run with a career-high four-game goal streak and seven points in those games (five goals, two assists).
"He's 10 feet around the net, scores all his goals there," Berube said. "He's using his speed, he's got good speed. He's got good 1-on-1 ability and that's what he's doing. He's challenging D 1-on-1 and creating some space with that behind him and again, most of his goals are 10 feet in around the net. The power-play goal the other night and he's had a couple of other goals right around the net, and that's where he's scoring his goals. He's doing a good job of using his speed, challenging the D 1-on-1, but for me, he's getting to the net. And that line's got some good chemistry right now too which helps. They're really working well together.
"I didn't think he started off overly well at the beginning of the season, but there was a point -- I don't know what game it was -- where he was really coming along and really doing the things we saw last year for most of the year."
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Walking into the Blues locker room today had the feel of walking into the Springfield Thunderbirds locker room with all the call-ups.
The Blues will have seven skaters that were part of the Thunderbirds lineup this season and one a healthy scratch tonight with the rash of injuries.
"It's crazy. It's funny how it works," one of those players, defenseman Steven Santini, said. "That's why teams put time and effort into taking care of their AHL teams and making sure that all of those players are ready when they get called up, and just stay ready throughout the year. That's a big part of this league is having younger players, and in my case a veteran player that can just come up and play and stay ready throughout the season."
"Obviously it sucks when guys go down, but these guys are more than capable of filling roles here," defenseman Tyler Tucker said. "Obviously there have been a lot of us called up here the past few days obviously looking for jobs and what not. If we can push them, that just makes the team better."
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Speaking of Tucker, it was another rousing success with him in the Blues' lineup.
Tucker, recalled again from Springfield to play Sunday in Minnesota, a 3-0 win, played 15:07 and doing so mostly alongside veteran Justin Faulk, who skated in a career-high 28:57.
"I like to get Tucker out against heavy lines," Berube said. "We used him a lot against (Joel) Eriksson Ek's line, which is a heavy line. As much as possible, I wanted Tucker with Faulk for that matchup. I thought Tucks did a good job. He was physical, he didn't shy away from those big boys. He was hard on them, he was physical, I thought his puck movement was good and he had real good gaps in the game.
"He's got a pretty good hockey IQ. That's one thing I take away from him. He plays a physical style of hockey and simple, but he's got a pretty good hockey IQ, reads the play well and he knows what he is and that's important. You know what you are, you don't go out of your limits. You stay in those limits and don't try and do too much. He's smart that way."
Tucker, who spent four games up here recently but was a healthy scratch before being sent back prior to the trip to play, has not lost in the NHL in the five games he has played with the Blues; he played in four straight games from Nov. 16-21.
"The guys here make it easy to come back in and feel comfortable," Tucker said. "They do a good job of that here. It felt great.
"That's my game, simple hockey. If I can do that, I should be OK. What I do down there is what made me successful. If I can do that up here, I'm sure it can be the same."
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Nikita Alexandrov, who scored his first NHL goal Saturday in Montreal, was tickled to get that one out of the way.
It took 13 games for the center iceman to get that first taste of scoring in the NHL but when he finally did in the third period to tie the game 3-3, it felt really good.
"It's an amazing feeling," Alexandrov said. "I've been waiting for that moment my whole life. Obviously kind of frustrating at the beginning not getting the first one. That's obviously what you're looking for, but now to get that one, it felt pretty special for me.
"For some people, the first one is not as hard, but to get that one last week was pretty special."
Alexandrov, who said he hasn't found a spot yet for the puck, said his phone was working overtime after the game.
"I had lots of people calling me and congratulating me," he said.
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Dmitri Samorukov, who was recalled Monday when the Blues placed defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (lower-body injury) on injured-reserve on Monday, was the player the Blues acquired from the Edmonton Oilers when they sent Klim Kostin to Canada.
"Pretty much of a stay-at-home D man type," Berube said. "Pretty simple player. He was playing pretty well down there right now. He didn't start off well, but he's gotten his confidence and he's more comfortable and playing a pretty good game right now. But just pretty much a stay-at-home d-man, first-pass guy."
The 23-year-old got off to a bit of a rocky start with the Thunderbirds but has since become one of their top d-men.
"When you're moving to a new team, it's new people, new coaching staff and they've got to learn from you, you've got to learn from them," Samorukov said. "You've just got to build that trust, build that confidence. It took me a little time and then after that, I saw I was playing good hockey and helped the team. That's what I'm here for. I'm just a nice guy who wants to help."
Samorukov, who arrived in St. Louis on Monday, is close friends with Kostin and Alexey Toropchenko.
"We played a lot growing up, especially me, Torpo and Klim," Samorukov said. "Then (Kostin) got away a little, so we don't really talk anymore. I have his number now (No. 37). ... We played on the national team, pretty much a lot on the national team.
"Torpo is a great guy. I actually went to the same school with him, same class. We have a lot in common. Torpo is just a nice guy. He can help me a little."
However, when Toropchenko met Samorukov when he arrived in town, he didn't want to impose on his friend and wife by staying with them, instead opting for a hotel.
"What do they say, neighbors, they're like fish because they start to smell on the third day," Samorukov joked. "So that's pretty simple."
When the trade was announced, Samorukov had to be the one to tell Kostin that they had been traded for one another. Kostin had apparently text Samorukov that the two friends were able to be teammates.
Uhh, no.
"I heard before I might be traded for Klim," Samorukov said. "I kind of knew a little before. He texted me and I was already on a flight. I told him we're switching spots."
With six Russians on the Blues, including Tarasenko, who called Samorukov to welcome him to St. Louis, he's just here to contribute any way possible.
"It's pretty simple for me. I just want to play," Samorukov said. "I want to show I deserve to be here. They made a trade, thanks to Edmonton and St. Louis. I'm just a player. I want to help. I'm not really worried about where I want to go or trade me. I just want to play and have fun.
"That's why I'm here. I had a lesson last year and now I know what I want. My mind is in a good spot and I'm just ready to work. I deserved that shot and just keep working.
"Vladi called me yesterday. It's nice. You feel more comfortable when you can talk simple stuff. There isn't many Russians and here it's like so much fun."
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The Blues' projected lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Ivan Barbashev
Jake Neighbours-Noel Acciari-Nathan Walker
Alexey Toropchenko-Nikita Alexandrov-Tyler Pitlick
Niko Mikkola-Colton Parayko
Tyler Tucker-Justin Faulk
Calle Rosen-Steven Santini
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Thomas Greiss will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Josh Leivo and Dmitri Samorukov. Ryan O'Reilly (foot), Vladimir Tarasenko (hand) and Torey Krug (lower body) are out long-term. Nick Leddy (upper body) remains day to day. Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) was put on injured-reserve Monday and will miss a minimum of a week. Marco Scandella (hip) and Scott Perunovich (shoulder) are on LTIR and Logan Brown (upper body) is on IR.
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The Flames' projected lineup:
Dillon Dube-Elias Lindholm-Tyler Toffoli
Milan Lucic-Nazem Kadri-Jonathan Huberdeau
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Trevor Lewis-Adam Ruzicka-Walker Duehr
Noah Hanifin-Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar-Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov-Michael Stone
Jacob Markstrom will start in goal; Dan Vladar will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Connor Mackey, Jakob Pelletier and Radim Zohorna. Brett Ritchie (upper body) is out.