Duchene, Predators defeat Flames in OT for fourth straight victory

CALGARY -- Matt Duchene scored 1:37 into overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday.

Duchene one-timed a cross-ice pass on a 2-on-1 from Mikael Granlund. He had been on the ice for the entirety of overtime.
"I was probably top-five most tired I've ever been during a shift," Duchene said. "I was a bit of a tripod in the D-zone there. The boys out there, 'Granny' and [Mattias Ekholm], did a good job picking up my slack because I couldn't move. I was going to go off. I thought 'Granny' and 'Ekky' were going to go 2-on-1 but 'Ekky' fell. I'm like, 'Oh, I'll hang in it' and 'Granny' put a great pass on my stick and I was just able to get a shot off."
Duchene had a goal and an assist, Luke Kunin and Filip Forsberg scored, and Granlund had two assists for the Predators (5-4-0), who have won four straight. Juuse Saros made 38 saves.
"We got unbelievable goaltending," Granlund said. "I do not think we were even close to our best tonight. It's tough to win in this league, and you don't apologize if you win a game. We know we were not at our best but we found a way, and we got super good goaltending. We got these big two points."
Matthew Tkachuk and Oliver Kylington scored, and Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves for the Flames (6-1-2), who had their six-game winning streak end.
"It's still a step for us," Calgary coach Darryl Sutter said. "It's a battle-back point. You come from behind in the third, it's still a good point. That point's a big point for you."

The Flames tied it 2-2 at 3:20 of the third period when Kylington scored on a shot that deflected off the crossbar. It was the defenseman's first goal since Feb. 13, 2020.
"I thought we showed good resilience and got back into the game," Kylington said. "We created a lot of chances and maybe should've scored on some of them, but he's a good goalie too."
Kunin gave Nashville a 1-0 lead when he scored his first of the season 10:11 into the first period on a deflection of Alexandre Carrier's point shot following a face-off win. It was the first time Calgary has trailed in a game since the season-opening 5-2 loss at the Edmonton Oilers.
Markstrom, who entered the game with back-to-back shutouts and three in four games, had his shutout streak end at 144:46.
Tkachuk tied it 1-1 on a power play at 11:49 when Sean Monahan's shot bounced off him and into the net.
"I just thought we were all over them," Tkachuk said. "Just got to bear down and bury our chances. Should've been up 4-1 or 4-2. We could've had four or five after the first period. Just have to bear down."
Forsberg put the Predators up 2-1 at 18:37 with a shot far side over Markstrom's left pad. It was his third goal in four games.

Nashville was outshot 20-9 in the period.
"It wasn't our best game, but we had games earlier in the year where we played really well and didn't get the result we probably deserved," Duchene said. "[Saros] was our best player tonight and stole it for us. We did enough to win. We had some big kills when we needed it and some timely scoring, especially in the first. We got dominated in the first. It was probably our worst first period in a while, even going back to last year. 'Juice' was great for us."
NOTES: Forsberg left at 10:16 of the third period following a collision with a teammate, and Calgary forward Brett Ritchie was injured in a fight with Nashville defenseman Mark Borowiecki at 7:09 of the first period. There was no update on either player. ... Granlund and Flames center Sean Monahan each played his 600th NHL game. ... The Flames have points in eight straight games (6-0-2). ... Johnny Gaudreau had a seven-game point streak end (two goals, nine assists). … Calgary had outscored its opponents 25-7 in the winning streak. … The Predators were playing the first of a back to back and the first of a six-game road trip. They play at the Oilers on Wednesday.