In a gritty rebound effort following a disheartening 5-0 season-opening loss to the Minnesota Wild, the St. Louis Blues evened their record at 1-1-0 with a hard-fought 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday. Jake Neighbours paced the Blues’ attack with a pair of goals, including the game-winner, while Robert Thomas contributed a goal and an assist to help St. Louis seize control in the third period. The Flames, dropping to 1-2-0 in their home opener, saw rookie sensation Matt Coronato notch a pair of goals but couldn’t hold off the Blues’ late surge.
The first period belonged to Calgary, as the Flames capitalized on a power play midway through to draw first blood. At 14:49, Coronato’s shot from the left side deflected off Blues defenseman Tyler Tucker and trickled past goaltender Joel Hofer, giving Calgary a 1-0 lead. Hofer, making his second start of the season, settled in after the early blemish, turning aside the rest of the period’s shots to keep the game within reach.
St. Louis roared back in the second frame, outshooting Calgary 14-8 and flipping the script with a pair of quick strikes. Neighbours evened things at 1-1 at 12:41, backhanding a slick pass from Thomas under Flames netminder Dustin Wolf’s legs for his first of the night. Just 1:44 later, on another power play, Thomas wristed a beauty to the top corner over Wolf’s glove—assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud—to put the Blues ahead 2-1. But Calgary responded swiftly, with Coronato striking again at 14:57 on a long saucer pass from Kevin Bahl, roofing a wrist shot over Hofer’s glove to knot the score at 2-2 just 32 seconds later. The period ended in a frenzy, setting the stage for a decisive third.
The Blues’ experience shone through in the final frame, where they added two unanswered goals to pull away. At 11:07, Neighbours tipped home a point shot from Colton Parayko for his second of the game and the eventual winner, restoring St. Louis’ lead at 3-2. Less than three minutes later, at 13:33, newcomer Pius Suter—fresh off signing with the Blues in the offseason—redirected a Tucker blast from the blue line past Wolf to seal the 4-2 victory, marking his first goal in a St. Louis sweater.
Hofer earned the win with a strong 27 saves on 29 shots, providing the backbone for St. Louis’ comeback. Wolf took the loss despite a valiant 24-save effort on 28 shots, but Calgary’s defense couldn’t contain the Blues’ timely finishing. Thomas’ multi-point night (1G, 1A) highlighted his playmaking prowess, while Coronato’s brace (both goals) announced his arrival as a Flames scoring threat.
With the win, the Blues head home feeling renewed, looking to build momentum early in the 2025-26 campaign.
