5 THINGS - FLAMES @ PREDATORS

FLAMES (29-20-8: 66 pts.) @ PREDATORS (34-12-9: 77 pts.)

1. US

The Flames are coming off a 5-2 road loss to the Bruins Tuesday night. The teams exchanged goals in the opening 2:03 of the first period on tallies from Riley Nash and Sam Bennett before Gaudreau added his 19th of the season to give the Flames a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Nash added his second of the night in the middle stanza beforePatrice Bergeron scored his team-leading 26th and 27th markers of the year in the third frame. Zdeno Chara added an empty-netter while Tuukka Rask made 28 saves for the win … David Rittich made 35 saves in the loss with emergency call-up Jon Gillies serving as his backup in Mike Smith's absence … The Flames are now 3-2-0 on their current road trip.

2. THEM

The Predators enter Thursday's matchup following a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory against the Blues on Tuesday night. Filip Forsberg scored the game-winner 1:19 into overtime by beating Blues goalie Carter Huttonon a penalty shot for his 17th of the season. Trailing 3-0 after two periods, the Predators forced the game past regulation thanks to Calle Jarnkrok's 14th of the year and a pair of tallies from Austin Watson, including a shorthanded marker. Pekka Rinne stopped 28 shots for his 29th win of the campaign … The Predators last five games have been decided in overtime or the shootout … Nashville is 5-0-2 in the month of February.

3. US vs THEM

This is the third and final regular-season clash between the Western Conference foes, with the road team winning each of the first two meetings. The Flames erased a 2-0 third-period deficit with goals from Matthew Tkachukand Micheal Ferland before Tkachuk and Monahan scored in the shootout for a 3-2 win on Oct. 24. In December, Ryan Johansen and Fiala both tallied as Rinne posted a 32-save shutout for a 2-0 Predators win at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Dougie Hamilton drew assists on both Flames goals in the October matchup to lead his team with two points against the Predators this season, while Johansen (1G+1A), Roman Josi (1G+1A) and Subban (2A) each share the team lead with a pair of points versus the Flames.

4. THIS, THAT & THE OTHER

This:The Flames third line of Bennett (1G+1A), Garnet Hathaway(1A) and Mark Jankowski (1G) has combined for four points over the past two games …That: On Thursday, Mark Giordano will pass Joel Otto for fifth all-time in games played as a Flame with 731 ... The Other: Thursday's tilt against the Predators is the final stop on the Flames six-game road trip. The Flames kick off a two-game homestand Saturday against the Panthers.

5. PLAYERS TO WATCH

Flames:LW Johnny Gaudreau
Johnny Hockey enters Thursday's game riding a seven-game point streak with 10 points (4G+6A) over that span. In 18 games in 2018, Gaudreau has been held pointless just twice, and his 24 points (6G+18A) since the start of the new year are tied with Penguins forward Phil Kessel for fourth-most in the NHL. His 67 points (19G+48A) in 57 games this season are second only to Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who leads the league with 72 points.
Predators:G Pekka Rinne
Rinne is 10-1-1 in 2018 with a 1.96 goals-against average, a .934 save percentage and two shutouts over that 12-game span. On the season, The 35-year-old backstop ranks fifth in save percentage (.927) and seventh in goals-against average (2.31) among all NHL goaltenders. Rinne and Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets are tied for second in the league in both wins (29) and shutouts (5).