Flames Fall To Predators

NASHVILLE - For the second time in as many nights, the Flames needed a big third.

Not because the deficit was too large - it wasn't - but if you had to characterize the opening 40 minutes on a scale from 1 to their best, the shot clock likely authored it best.

And as good as the Flames have been in the comeback department lately, there would be no resurgence this time. In fact, it slipped away. The Predators got goals from Colton Sissons, Ryan O'Reilly, Alexandre Carrier and Juuso Parssinen, along with 24 saves from Juuse Saros, as Nashville took home a 4-2 victory on Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena.

“Obviously, not a good game. Slow. (We left) Marky out to dry. A million scoring chances against. Definitely one we need to move past and learn from because we have some good teams coming up," said veteran Chris Tanev. "Our game wasn't there. We were slow, weren't connected, huge gap between our forwards and D, so it allows them to skate through the neutral zone with a lot of pucks and generate a lot of chances.

“It was a chance to get back to .500. It would have been a huge win. We definitely laid an egg. We have to learn from this and get ready for a good team in Dallas in two days.”

Noah Hanifin and Yegor Sharangovich tallied for the Flames, while Jacob Markstrom - who kept his troupe in the game from the moment the puck dropped - finished with 41 saves.

The Flames were outshot 30-17 in the first two periods and 45-26 overall.

With the Flames trailing 4-1 late, Sharangovich took off on a breakaway and scored on a beautiful backhand deke to collect his fourth of the year.

"I thought we were slow and sloppy," said Head Coach Ryan Huska, echoing Tanev's thoughts. "I think that's the best way I can put it for the entire night.

"I thought they skated tonight. For sure, they did. They were more competitive than we were. Whether it was them or our inability to do that stuff, it's probably a combination of both."

The Predators drew first blood with a shorthanded goal at 2:33. The Flames turned the puck over at the offensive blueline and were unable to contain the odd-man counter attack, as Sissons took a Roman Josi pass and whistled a slapper over Markstrom’s right shoulder to make it 1-0.

To their credit, the Flames quickly steadied the ship and brought the game back on even terms less than two-and-a-half minutes later. Shortly after an Andrew Mangiapane shot grazed off the bar, No. 88 gobbled up his own rebound, turned back toward the net and fed Hanifin for a short-side beauty.

The Flames continue to get significant production from the blueline, with the brigade combining for nine goals and 27 points over the last eight games. Hanifin, alone, is responsible for six of them (4G, 2A) in a span dating back to Nov. 4.

“It wasn't obviously our best game by any means," Hanifin said. "I don't think we had a great start and it carried over into the second. Just something on both sides of the puck. We were a little sloppy and disconnected tonight, which is something we've been pretty good at of late. It's a good we have to learn from a little bit. Take tomorrow, and then get ready for two big games coming up.”

O’Reilly put the Preds back in front at 11:23, as he stuffed home a loose puck after it took a lively bounce off the end boards.

The Flames nearly got it back on the very next shift when Nazem Kadri – who was flying in the opening frame – picked off a pass in the neutral zone and raced in alone, but his quick wrister rang off the iron.

Moments later, Dillon Dube – who was playing in his 300th career game – crashed the blue paint and poked at a loose puck, but it somehow squirted through the five-hole and out the other side to keep the home team in front.

Tempers flared with 3:55 to play in the period as Dennis Gilbert took exception to a late jab into the pads of Markstrom and dropped the mitts with the 6-foot-6 Michael McCarron. It was a spirited tussle, with Gilbert holding his own and throwing a few stiff rights before the pair tumbled to the ice in a heap.

Shots on goal favoured the homeside 16-13 after a thrilling opening 20.

After a quiet start to the second, the action picked up near the seven-minute mark when Jeremy Lauzon slew-footed Martin Pospisil. The rookie was slow to get up, but showed no worse for wear as the Flames went to their second powerplay of the evening.

Meanwhile, Nikita Zadorov stood up for his teammate and quickly disposed of Lauzon in a fight afterward.

"That's huge. That's a big part of it," Hanifin said of players sticking up for one another. "Whether you're winning or losing games, that's stuff that matters and goes a long way when you see guys like Z and Gibby stepping up to the plate and answering the bell. It's definitely good for the morale of the team and was something that was definitely noticed by us tonight.”

"You're teammates and you're always competing with the guy beside you," added Huska. "When you have guys that stand up for each other, it makes you feel that much better on the ice, all the time. It's something we want all our players to be like, for sure. It's the same around our net. We want guys to be hard in front of our net so our goalies don't get bumped or touched."

The Flames were out-shot 14-4 in the middle frame – but came within a second of tying it on a late powerplay, but the buzzer sounded before Rasmus Andersson’s point shot evaded traffic and beat Saros top shelf.

Carrier added the insurance with 8:04 to play in the third after a strange play that saw Forsberg catch the puck out of mid-air and toss it from behind the net, over Markstrom, and down into the blue paint. The Flames cleared the puck from that immediate danger, but it landed right on the stick of Carrier, who buried it.

The Flames rolled the dice challenged the play for a missed game stoppage, but the call on the ice was upheld.

A powerplay goal from Juuso Parssinen at 17:22 rounded out the scoring for the home team.

Kiefer Sherwood was awarded a penalty shot with under two minutes to play after MacKenzie Weegar threw his stick in an effort to block a cross-crease pass, but Markstrom stood tall.

One-Timers:

The Flames and Predators honoured the storied career of longtime executive David Poile prior to puck drop. Poile, who began his career with the Atlanta Flames in 1977 and followed the team to Calgary, spent 51 years in the NHL before announcing his retirement this past February. … Flames GM Craig Conroy presented Poile with a signature plaque to celebrate his career as a Flame, while the players all took part in the on-ice festivities.

Assistant Coach Dan Lambert made his return to Nashville after spending the past four years with the Predators. Fittingly, “It all started with a call from David Poile.” The team landed in the Music City at about 4 p.m. local on Tuesday, giving Lambert enough time to get together and have dinner with his daughter, who still lives in the city. “There’s so many memories,” he said. “Mr. Poile gave me an opportunity and we really ran with it and had a lot of fun. I got to work with some great people on the coaching staff and players. There were great relationships built and everything's a memory. … They were looking to add an offensive mind and a powerplay guy to their coaching staff, so I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity. I was really appreciative. My wife and I, and eventually my oldest daughter, moved here and fell in love with the city. This organization is like a family and that's how they sold it to us, and they kept true to their word, so I really appreciated it.”

The Lineup:

Forwards

Yegor Sharangovich - Elias Lindholm - Andrew Mangiapane
Martin Pospisil - Nazem Kadri - Dillon Dube
Jonathan Huberdeau - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
A.J. Greer - Adam Ruzicka - Walker Duehr

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov - Dennis Gilbert

Goaltender

Jacob Markstrom

Scratches: Connor Zary (lower body, day-to-day), Nick DeSimone

They Said It:

The Numbers Game:

Shots: CGY 26, NSH 45

Powerplay: CGY 0-for-4, NSH 1-for-5

Faceoffs: CGY 53.6%, NSH 47.1%

Blocked Shots: CGY 14, NSH 13

Hits: CGY 15, NSH 10

5-on-5 Scoring Chances: CGY 17, NSH 24

5-on-5 High-Danger Scoring Chances: CGY 8, NSH 9

Up Next:

The Flames conclude this four-game road trip with a back-to-back set beginning on Friday in Dallas and wrapping up less than 24 hours later in Colorado.