Perron hat trick helps Blues defeat Flames for first win

ST. LOUIS -- David Perron scored a hat trick for the St. Louis Blues in a 5-3 win against the Calgary Flames at Enterprise Center on Thursday.

It was Perron's first hat trick since Oct. 22, 2016, also against the Flames.
Perron, moved to a line with Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz, played 16:43 after playing 11:24 in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
WATCH: [All Flames vs. Blues highlights]
"[Schwartz] is always a guy who's easy to play with, he works so hard and gives you chances, so you have to get on the same page with him and work the same," Perron said. "We created a lot of opportunities and it definitely felt good.
"It's quite different for sure, more of everything, more of what I was used to from last year, things like that. It's great."
Alexander Steen had a goal and an assist, Schenn had three assists, and Jake Allen made 31 saves for St. Louis (1-1-1).

"There was more good stuff tonight, but we're obviously not there yet," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "A good result. Really happy for Jake the way he played the game. I wish we could have done a better job in the third period, but he was outstanding tonight, and obviously found a way to score some big goals. I still think we can tighten up and be better."
James Neal and Derek Ryan each scored his first goal with Calgary (2-2-0), and Mike Smith allowed five goals on 24 shots before he was replaced by David Rittich to start the third period.
"It's not on the goaltender at all," Flames coach Bill Peters said. "That's on us in front of him, and we were thinking of giving [Rittich] the start [at the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday], so give him a little bit of work heading into that start. ...
"There were some good things that happened. We had some guys get their firsts (goals), which is important. I think those were good to get out of the way."
Perron scored his first goal at 9:48 of the first period to give the Blues a 2-1 lead, then scored his second at 4:05 of the second period to make it 4-1, and completed his fourth NHL hat trick with 36 seconds remaining in the second, his second power-play goal of the period, to give the Blues a 5-1 lead.

Perron thought he scored with 3:12 remaining in the second on a goalmouth scramble, but officials immediately waved it off because he pushed in the puck with his hand.
"That's the right call, let's keep it that way," Perron said. "You do anything you can to score goals. I tried."
Neal scored to give Calgary a 1-0 lead at 7:32 of the first period before Steen scored 12 seconds later to tie it 1-1.
Joel Edmundson, playing his first game of the season for St. Louis, made it 3-1 with 2:38 left in the first. Calgary forward Sean Monahan hit the left post on a penalty shot with 1:22 remaining in the period.
Ryan scored to make it 5-2 at 8:17 of the third period, and Mikael Backlund made it 5-3 at 11:04 with a goal off the skate of Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

They said it

"I thought it was pretty evident. I think everybody saw that. For some reason we came in and we weren't ready to go. You've got to know your opponent. That's a desperate club. They don't want to lose three in a row. It's a tough building to play in, good atmosphere, and they're a good hockey team. We've got to be ready to play when the puck drops." -- Flames forward James Neal
"He's good with the puck. He's able to make plays, he's good with finding the open guy, he's patient with good poise. Obviously nice having a guy like that on our line." -- Blues center Brayden Schenn on David Perron

Need to know

Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau and Monahan each failed to get a point for the first time this season. ... Smith is 5-15-0 in 21 games against St. Louis. ... Blues rookie forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou each got an assist for his first NHL point. ... Steen's goal was his 453rd point with the Blues, passing Al MacInnis for seventh place in St. Louis history.

What's next

Flames: At the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, CITY, ALT, NHL.TV)
Blues: At the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-MW, NHL.TV)