NASHVILLE — Jonathan Huberdeau and Joel Farabee scored in the third period as the Flames rallied, but ultimately lost 4-2 in Nashville Saturday afternoon.
Calgary fell behind 3-0 in the first period and pushed back in the final frame but couldn’t find the equalizer, the Predators getting a late empty-netter to seal the deal
Dustin Wolf allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period and was replaced by Devin Cooley to start the second, who stopped all 12 shots he faced.
Michael Bunting got the homeside on the board at 10:29 of the opening frame when he tipped a wrister from Spencer Stasney that changed direction and went up high past Wolf.
The Preds made it 2-0 just 49 seconds later when Matthew Wood got a puck in the high slot, spun around and scored.
Flames captain Mikael Backlund skated the puck up the ice shorthanded later in the period, going around Preds blueliner Nick Blankenburg and getting off a great backhand shot but was denied by Juuse Sarros.
On their ensuing trip down the ice, Jonathan Marchessault would make it 3-0 when he beat Wolf with a wrister while still a man up with just under five minutes to go to the first intermission.
Cooley's biggest save of the middle stanza came on a backdoor chance by Steven Stamkos, denying the veteran with a massive stop.
Brayden Pachal and Calgary product Ozzy Weisblatt got into a scrum after a whistle, both tagged with two-minute roughing penalties but the Flames defenceman also receiving a 10-minute misconduct.
Skating four-on-four, Huberdeau threaded a pass to Nazem Kadri but Saros stopped him, while at the other end Cooley swallowed up a wrist shot from Marchessault on a partial breakaway.
Blake Coleman later had a crack at rebound right on the doorstep but couldn’t beat Sarros.
Kadri laid a big hit on Brady Skjei behind the Preds net, but on the ensuing Nashville rush, Cooley had to go post-to-post to stop Nick Perbix’s shot off a cross-ice feed from Luke Evangelista.
Cooley made a stellar stop on Marchessault early in the third, lunging across to his right and getting a blocker on the shot, leaving the Preds forward looking skyward and shaking his head.
Not long after, Huberdeau scored at 4:39 of the final frame, dropping to one knee at the side of the net to put in the rebound of a Jake Bean shot.
