In Calgary Wednesday night, the Flames’ Dougie Hamilton struck for the game-winner in a 2-1 win over the visiting St Louis Blues.
“You try to get into a [Stanley Cup] Playoff spot as early in the season as we can and try to keep getting points as much as we can,” Hamilton said. “That’s the biggest thing. 
Games are worth the same now as at the end of the year.”
Mike Smith made 21 saves to pick up the win as the Flames improved to 18-14-3.
“We’re just not good enough and we’re not going to win hockey games until we get on the right track,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “If you’ve got a couple guys out of the lineup, that’s one thing. That’s no excuse. It’s a matter of making sure that you’re prepared to play the right way and to play that way for 60 minutes and we haven’t been doing that.”
Brayden Schenn had the lone goal for the Blues in the loss.
“Simply not good enough. We didn’t really sustain any pressure, get many chances,” Schenn said after the game. “Five-on-5 we still continue to struggle. We’re obviously playing on the perimeter too much and simply not playing hard enough. That results in losing hockey and getting worked and giving up shots and getting outshot.”
Michael Frolik also scored for the Flames; play continued for nearly a minute after the goal.
“I’ve had a few where they have to challenge it, but never like that when you keep playing and then all of a sudden the buzzer goes on,” Frolik said. “I was just like, ‘Something’s wrong, I guess.’ Guys at the bench were yelling at me that it was in.”
[WATCH: All Blues vs. Flames highlights]
Carter Hutton made 31 saves in taking the loss.
“Always against them it’s pretty tight and they don’t give up much. We just stayed patient. We had a few chances and didn’t give them that much. We tried to stack it in the neutral zone and I think we did a pretty good job there. Be patient, and luckily we got the second one and came out with the win,” Frolik said after the tight win.
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