Bunting Records Three Points, Wood Scores Again as Preds Defeat Flames

Michael Bunting had a three-point day as the Nashville Predators defeated the Calgary Flames by a 4-2 final on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena. The result snaps a three-game skid for the Preds and gives them a victory to start the month of November.

Bunting, Matthew Wood, Jonathan Marchessault and Filip Forsberg all tallied for the Predators - with the first three goals all coming in the opening period - and Juuse Saros made 33 saves in net to get Nashville back into the win column.

“You're happy for them,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said of his team. “Obviously a lot of us are squeezing the stick with them here through this stretch, and it was nice to see some pucks go in, finally, and hopefully they feel good about that.”

Bunting got the scoring started in the first frame when he tipped a Spencer Statsney shot past Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, and just 49 seconds later, Wood sniped home his second goal in as many games to put the Preds up by two. Then, on the man advantage, Bunting found Marchessault alone in the slot, and No. 81 potted Nashville’s third tally of the afternoon.

“I like what our line did,” Bunting said. “We just kind of hounded them, and we were able to turn a couple pucks over, and then we were fortunate to get rewarded there. ‘Woody’ played great, [Fedor Svechkov] also played a great game, we just have to keep building up [our chemistry].”

For Wood, who seemingly got an extra boost of confidence with his first NHL goal that came Thursday in Philadelphia, a second tally in as many games was a satisfying confirmation the work he’s put in during the early stages of his career is paying off.

“I think I'm definitely more confident,” Wood said. “It was a big accomplishment [to score my first goal], and I'm really grateful that I had that opportunity to try to achieve that lifelong dream that every kid that plays hockey has. [I got] that out of the way and [now, I’ll] just try to build confidence off that.”

"Credit to him," Brunette said of Wood. "I mean, this summer, he came in here, he worked his butt off, he's in great shape and he looked great right from camp. He's a hungry kid that really wants it, and he proved it to all of us by being here all summer and putting the work in. So, nice for him to get some goals here. You can see the skill, and he's pretty deadly in that area."

After neither club found the back of the net in the second stanza, the Flames made a push when they scored a pair to cut Nashville’s lead to one midway through the final frame, but Forsberg secured the two points with an empty-netter to finish the afternoon.

Ozzy Wiesblatt didn’t show up on the scoresheet on Saturday, but the rookie was throwing his weight around and frustrating Flames skaters all day. The impact was notable, and according to the Nashville winger, that’s exactly how he likes it.

“It's just trying to get myself involved in the game and trying to have an impact any way I can,” Wiesblatt said of his effort. “When you’ve got guys coming after you, that’s when I'm having my most fun. I love that.”

“He's buzzing,” Brunette said of Wiesblatt. “He’s kind of relentless [with] pressure on guys, and he'll be physical, he's got a really good stick, he’s got some good hockey sense offensively, so they can't get [the puck] off of him, probably frustrates them a little bit more. But yeah, he stirs the pot pretty good.”

And on a day when the Preds honored two of their own in legendary broadcasters Pete Weber and Terry Crisp, the latter of whom won a Stanley Cup as head coach of the Flames in 1989, a win from the home squad ensured the postgame celebration for the dynamic duo would be a bit sweeter.

Notes:

Predators forward Cole Smith left Saturday’s game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged from their previous outing with Tyson Jost serving as the lone healthy scratch for the Preds. Defensemen Adam Wilsby (lower body, day-to-day) and Roman Josi (upper body, week-to-week) remained out.

Matthew Wood became the third Predators player in the past 10 years to score goals in consecutive games at age 20 or younger. The others are Philip Tomasino (2 GP in 2021-22) and Kevin Fiala (2 GP in 2016-17).

Wood also became the first Predators player since Tomasino (two in the second period on March 13, 2022) to record a multi-point period at age 20 or younger.

Michael Bunting tallied 1-2—3 in the opening frame, which marked the most points by a Predators player in the first period since Roman Josi on Nov. 17, 2022 (0-3—3).

Saturday’s game started a stretch of three contests in four nights for the Predators with the next outing coming Monday when they host the Vancouver Canucks before traveling to face the Wild in Minnesota on Tuesday.