Kylington helps Flames defeat Predators for fifth straight win

CALGARY -- Oliver Kylington had his first two NHL points, including his first goal, to help the Calgary Flames to their fifth straight win, 5-2 against the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday.

Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm each had a goal and an assist, and Johnny Gaudreau had two assists for the Flames (19-9-2), who are 9-1-1 in the past 11 games. Mike Smith made 25 saves to earn his sixth consecutive win after six losses in his previous eight games.
"We have a great team in here," said forward Garnet Hathaway, who scored the first of three straight goals for Calgary in the third period. "We have a lot of potential. When you get depth scoring and you get those guys playing as well as they are. We have roles right now, and guys are stepping up."
WATCH: [All Predators vs. Flames highlights]
Colton Sissons and Craig Smith scored, and Juuse Saros made 20 saves for the Predators (19-10-1), who have two wins in the past six games.
"You can't go too low," Saros said. "We're still in a good position. We've just got to work on some things we can do better and stay positive."

After Smith scored for Nashville 54 seconds into the third to tie the game 2-2, Hathaway gave Calgary a 3-2 lead at 6:03 when he deflected Matthew Tkachuk's point shot.
"We ran a play," said Kylington, who has played seven NHL games, six this season. "[Tkachuk] said he wanted me to take the puck down the wall and then he wanted to pop up in the middle, and we won the puck clean off the face-off. Then I did what he said and I passed the puck, and [Hathaway] made a great tip. It was a good play."
Alan Quine, recalled from Stockton of the American Hockey League on Friday and playing his first game for the Flames, scored on a backhand deke to make it 4-2 at 12:12. It was Quine's first goal in 45 games, dating to Jan. 31, 2017, when he played for the New York Islanders.
"Obviously, they've had a great start to the season," Quine said of the Flames. "To be able to fit in and contribute, it's a great feeling. You just want to keep on winning. That's the ultimate goal."
Lindholm scored into an empty net with three minutes left for the 5-2 final score. He has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in a six-game point streak, and his 16 goals are one shy of his NHL career high, set in 2014-15 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
"I thought we just gave them too many," Craig Smith said. "[Saros] is a good goalie. We gave them too much. I thought they capitalized on a lot of quick turnovers. We're going to have to go back and look at the tape and make some adjustments again and correct it."
Kylington scored from the slot on Calgary's first shot of the game 1:12 into the first period to put Calgary up 1-0.
"Amazing feeling," Kylington said. "First time I touched the puck there. When I got it off my stick, I had a good feeling, and when I saw the puck in the back of the net, happy feeling."
Sissons redirected Roman Josi's pass to tie it 1-1 at 19:07.
Monahan scored on his backhand from the top of the crease at 16:40 of the second period to give Calgary a 2-1 lead. He has nine points (five goals, four assists) in the past five games.

They said it

"We kept our foot on the gas. We never got down on ourselves. We kept focusing on, 'We need to get better, we can't take a step back.' Every period, we came in here and talked and said, 'Hey, this isn't our game. We've got to get to our game." -- Flames forward Garnet Hathaway

"I think they wanted it more. At times we played well, and at times they outplayed us. Just getting back to basics. I think we've obviously been hit with the injury bug, and when that happens, you have to simplify your game and play very predictable for your teammates." -- Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis

Need to know

The Flames lead the NHL with 47 third-period goals. … Gaudreau has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in a seven-game point streak, and 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in the past 11 games. … Predators forward Ryan Johansen had a three-game point streak end. He had one goal and three assists in the streak. …Flames defenseman Mark Giordano served the first of a two-game suspension for kneeing Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu in a 2-0 win on Thursday. … Calgary forward Ryan Lomberg served the first of a two-game suspension for leaving the bench on a legal line change for the purpose of starting a fight against Minnesota.

What's next

Predators: Host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, RDS2, TSN5, NHL.TV)
Flames: At the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; SN, SN1, NHL.TV)