When these two teams last met the Predators built a 4-0 lead only to have the Flames score three goals in two and a half minutes in the third period to make the end a nail biting 4-3 Predator victory.
So those thinking a 4-1 Calgary lead in the second was safe were clearly not paying attention to recent history.
The Predators not only erased that three goal lead, they took the lead, queueing the Flames for a third period tying goal and then an overtime winner to complete the comeback against the comeback in a thrilling 6-5 win in Nashville, a game that all kinds of playoff implications.
Not a game for the faint of heart.
The Flow
Great start to the game as the Flames score early when the new model Johnny Gaudreau chips a puck off the boards, chases it, then flips out a spinning backhand pass to Micheal Ferland who makes it 1-0 Flames early. The Predators come back and tie it when a Subban shot from the point hits a Preds winger in front of the net and deflects past Bryan Elliott. The goal was waived off immediately but then reinstated after review when they deemed the contact on Elliott was outside of the crease. The Flames aren’t phased though and pile on two more quick goals when Mikael Backlund gets a rebound off of a deflection and beats Rinne and then Ferland scores his second of the period on a two on one with Gaudreau where he shoots all the way and goes bar down. Great road period for the Flames as they lead 3-1 after one.
The good times looked they’d continue to roll in the second when the Flames made it 4-1 Johnny Gaudreau finding Dougie Hamilton late, who took the puck across the grain and beat Rinne over the shoulder. That was three assists for Gaudreau and the showers for the Predator’s starter as Saros came in in relief with the Flames rolling. The game continues to go back in forth with Calgary testing the new stopper including Gaudreau point blank and Matthew Tkachuk all alone out of the corner, but the Flames couldn’t find that fifth goal to put things away. Then Backlund off all people is beat out of the corner by Forsberg who beats Elliott far side with a backhander and the Predators had life. A minute later Hamilton takes a tripping penalty and it’s suddenly 4-3 when Colin Wilson tips a point shot home on the ensuing powerplay. Trouble. The comeback is complete when Mark Giordano loses his check in the slot and Forsberg hits for his second of the period and game and the game is tied at four apiece. Was that it? Hell no. TJ Brodie tosses a muffin up the middle and the Predators turn it back with Forsberg completing the hat trick and the Predators have a 5-4 lead.
Players – Calgary’s top pairing had a great game again with Hamilton and Giordano leading the way at 67% each. Other guys with big five on five nights included Tkachuk, Brouwer, Brodie, Frolik, Versteeg and Backlund. So the usual suspects, but also both vets playing with Sam Bennett; a good sign. Guys with rough nights included Bartkowski who fell from the grace of his first night in Calgary silks, coming in at 34% as well as Chiasson, Stone, Bouma and Ferland who were all in the 40s.
1. Johnny Gaudreau: We’ve been waiting for a game like this and we got one! Gaudreau piles up four assists as he stirs the drink all night for the Flames.
2. Filip Forsberg: Scores the hat trick, all in the second period for the Preds and even chips in with the overtime winner! 😉
3. Matthew Tkachuk: Two assists and is in the play from the opening face off to the final buzzer. Gets in the face of Subban, draws penalties and is a difference maker.
Big Save
Juuse Saros made the comeback possible with a great save on Matthew Tkachuk midway through the second period with the Flames leading 4-1 and looking for that 5th goal. Tkachuk brought the puck out of the corner and tried to beat him with a short side stuff but Saros was equal to the task giving his team a chance to come back.
The Goat
TJ Brodie had a tough night for Calgary. It was a TJ Brodie tough night however, which means he did a lot of great things, but his giveaway on the Predator’s 5th goal and then almost again in the third period were out of character.
Mr. Clutch
I gave Bryan Elliott the goat in the Vancouver game for his goal from center ice, so tonight I’m giving him the clutch in a game where he gave up 5 goals on 28 shots for a .828 save percentage. Gobsmacked? Don’t be. He didn’t give up a single weak goal, and was huge down the stretch when the Flames were pushing to tie it, and then again when the game was tied. Unflappable.
Odds and Ends
Looks like Glen Gulutzan is saying “not so fast” on the expected TJ Brodie / Michael Stone matchup on the team’s second pairing, which is at least a mild surprise. Would assume it’s meant to break Stone in quietly, and not force him to bite off more than he can chew his first game in Flame’s silks. I mentioned after the Vancouver game that Engelland is doing fine in that role, but you do notice the lack of offense when Brodie thrown the puck across, will be interesting to see if Stone is a leg up in that regard if and when he suits up with #7. Up front the Alex Chiasson punishment is over so he’s back in but demoted to the fourth line. I liked Versteeg with the Monahan and Gaudreau, and thought they should have more than a one game look, but in the end it looked like a pretty inspired choice to put Ferland up on the top line and surround Bennett with the two vets of Versteeg and Brouwer. … Bryan Elliott started once again, breaking the win and you’re in rule as he lost the overtime game in Vancouver. … How great was it to see Sam Bennett jumping in on Ryan Johansson after the Predator roughed up Matt Stajan on the previous shift. So many notables in this one. 1) Great to see the kid sticking up for a teammate, shows a pile of character. 2) Really shows what Matt Stajan means to that room and that his contract really isn’t an albatross. 3) And finally the kid is strong. Johansson is a big boy and Bennett had the balance to go with him. Can’t wait until Bennett puts it altogether, its going to be fun to watch. … Michael Stone didn’t have a banner night for a first game in Calgary colours, but then acquiring a 4/5 defenseman shouldn’t come with all that much fanfare. He was even, which was a feat in a game as wild as this one, played 17 minutes and certainly didn’t look out of place. THe Stone/Bartkowksi pairing struggled early though, so Gulutzan dropped Engelland down to the third pairing and moved Stone up to play with Brodie. Did notice in the third when Stone got caught but had the speed to recover. Now was it speed or just noticeably faster than Wideman? I’ll leave that up to you. … Great to see Micheal Ferland’s first 2 goal game of his career. And loved his fight in the second period coming to the aid of Stone. The kid has a lot of talents … With the Kings winning tonight the Flames come from behind win is huge in the standings, even if they did cough up a point to the Predators. The Flames are now one point back of the Preds with Nashville having a game in hand, two points up on the Kings still with the Kings still having a game in hand, and two points up on the Jets with three games in hand. If the Flames can go four games over .500 over their final 22 games they should be playoff bound.
Next Up
The Flames road trip continues with a tilt in Tampa Bay on Thursday night. Game time 5.30pm on Sportsnet.
Lines:
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Gaudreau – Monahan – Ferland
Versteeg – Bennett – Brouwer
Bouma – Stajan – Chiasson
Giordano – Hamilton
Brodie – Engelland
Bartkowski – Stone
Elliott
