Brayden Schenn scores twice in the Blues' 4-1 victory over the Flames, sweep season series 

ST. LOUIS — After getting his first two-goal game of the season, Brayden Schenn’s teammates were trying really hard to get him as many chances to score a third goal for the hat trick.

“I tried to come off first on the power play and I got the whole bench screaming at me to just get out there,” Schenn said. “That’s just selfless hockey by those guys.”

Along with the captain’s two goals, Colton Parayko and Jordan Kyrou also scored as the Blues extinguished the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Thursday, Jan. 16, in St. Louis.

Yegor Sharangovich scored the only goal and goalie Dustin Wolf had 25 saves for the Flames.

The game was St. Louis’ to lose after a 3-0 first period, capped by Kyrou’s 20th goal of the season. Kyrou has scored 15 goals since Jim Montgomery took over as Blues head coach on Nov. 25, 2024, which has him third in the NHL during that stretch.

“I want him buzzing and that means him skating,” Montgomery said. “Him skating without the puck is where he’s really dangerous, and I find he’s creating turnovers. Now he’s winning one-on-one battles because his feet are moving. Then he’s so dangerous when he gets the puck and he has a step on someone that he can make a real gift in place, whether he’s shooting it or whether he’s passing it.”

Colton Parayko also extended his goal streak to three games in a row with a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle with 6:07 to go in the first period to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Parayko has scored five of his nine goals since Montgomery’s arrival.

Montgomery said he had only had one conversation with the veteran defenseman since his arrival, and it was all that was necessary.

“I grabbed him after about seven games and I said, ‘Hey, I haven’t talked to you much … don’t change a thing.’ That’s the only thing I said to him,” Montgomery said. “I think he’s taken it upon himself to shoot more because he’s a player that you can tell by the way he’s playing, he wants to play playoff hockey, wants to play meaningful hockey, and he’s leading us that way.”

St. Louis tied Calgary in shots 29-29 despite the Blues’ three first-period goals came on 13 shots.

“I felt we could have had six or seven goals tonight with a lot of the looks that we had,” Montgomery said.

Joel Hofer stopped 28 shots for his 10th win in 15 starts this season. The 24-year-old goalie, in his fourth year in the league, has given the Blues two starting caliber goalies between him and Jordan Binnington, whose 2.79 goals-against average is his lowest since 2020-21.

“I would take our tandem over any tandem in the league,” Montgomery said. “They are really good. They handle the puck, and they’re really competitive individuals.”

This win gave the Blues a two-game sweep at home over the Flames, who have only won one game in 11 tries in St. Louis. The Blues swept the season series for the second straight season, marking the first time in franchise history that such a streak has occurred.

“We needed these points bad,” Dylan Holloway said. “I think that shows a lot about our group and our resiliency to show up when it counts.“

All the more important is those two wins have closed the gap between the Blues and Flames, who hold the second wildcard spot with 49 points. The two wins over Calgary boost St. Louis to 48 points on the season (22-20-4), tying with Vancouver in a race for the playoffs.

“You just keep getting the feeling of guys pumping each other up and playing for one another,” Schenn said. “When you creep up in the standings, it makes you play hard.”

The Blues travel to Utah on Saturday, Jan. 18. Afterwards the Blues will have a home-and-home set with the Vegas Golden Knights, starting on the road on Monday, Jan. 20, and at home on Thursday, Jan. 23.