Saros makes 38 saves for Predators in win against Flames

NASHVILLE --Juuse Saros made 38 saves, including 21 in the third period, and the Nashville Predators ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

Roman Josi and Juuso Parssinen scored for the Predators (20-17-6), who complete a three-game homestand Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"It was huge," said Josi, the Nashville captain. "Just when you look at the standings, [the Flames] are obviously in front of us, a couple points, and it was a big game for us too. Kind of a four-point game, so it was definitely a big win for us."

Nikita Zadorov scored, and Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves for the Flames (21-15-9), who went 0-for-4 on the power play and finished 2-1-2 on a five-game road trip.
"It was a pathetic effort by us the first two periods for sure," Zadorov said. "We were a step behind. The energy wasn't there, the commitment wasn't there, we weren't shooting. We were making bad plays, giving up too many chances, so I think it was just an all-around bad effort for us in the first two periods."
Calgary nearly tied it 2-2 on a power play at 3:58 of the third when Tyler Toffoli knocked in the rebound of Nazem Kadri's shot, but video review determined Toffoli kicked the puck into the net.
"Obviously we're saying it's a goal and [the Predators are] happy it's not, but it could be the other way," Flames coach Darryl Sutter said. "On the ice, it's called a goal, so generally that kind of overrides. It's not like Tyler was kicking. A distinct kicking motion is stand up and make a distinct kicking motion."
Josi gave Nashville a 1-0 lead at 8:26 of the first period. He fired a slap shot from the blue line that bounced in off Zadorov, who was tangled with Predators forward Cody Glass at the side of the net.
"I thought the first [period] was really good," Josi said. "I felt like we had a lot of chances. They didn't get much."

Parssinen made it 2-0 at 14:24 when he stuffed in a loose puck after Markstrom was unable to cover it in the crease.
The goal extended Parssinen's point streak to seven games (two goals, seven assists), which tied the Predators' rookie record set by Filip Forsberg during the 2014-15 season.
"That's a sign of good things to come, right, when you're able to do that," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "That's what we've talked about with [Parssinen] for a while. He's got a really strong game. He's a mentally tough kid. I think he's got the physical ability to play at this level night in and night out.
"He's done a really good job. That's good to see, a good, young player with good offensive instincts and good offensive upside."

Zadorov cut it to 2-1 at 18:07 of the second period. He took a centering pass from Mikael Backlund and beat Saros with a wrist shot from the slot.
Calgary outshot Nashville 21-5 in the third, when the Predators killed three penalties.
"[Saros] was huge," Josi said. "It doesn't matter how we play. He always keeps us in games. We're always in a game. If we do a good job in front of him, playing good defensively, we have a really good chance to win any game with him in there."
NOTES: It was Saros' fifth win this season with at least 35 saves; only three goalies have more (Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck and Stuart Skinner each have six). … The Flames are 0-9-1 when trailing after two periods … Nashville is 5-0-1 in its past six games against Calgary … Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier returned after missing one game with an upper-body injury. He had two shots, one blocked shot and three hits in 19:46 of ice time.