Flames fail to push past resilient Predators
Solid relief work from backup goalie key as Nashville gets help from unlikely heroes
The Calgary Flames had just tied the score, and the reigning Vezina Trophy winner was exiting from the opposing crease due to injury.
They had the Nashville Predators right where they wanted them.
Or maybe not.
The Predators scratched out a 5-3 victory Friday at the Saddledome thanks to a pair of unlikely heroes — fourthline rabble-rouser Zac Rinaldo notched the game-winner on a two-on-one rush, while backup goalie Juuse Saros was perfect in nearly 15 minutes of sudden relief work.
“We gave one up in the first minute and we chased the game from that point on,” said Flames coach Bill Peters. “Every time we tied it up, we did something to get in our own way and made it harder than it had to be.”
Indeed, the Flames were playing catch-up for most of the night but seemed to have all of the momentum on their side as Nashville’s stalwart netminder, Pekka Rinne, disappeared down the tunnel after a chat with a trainer with 14:51 remaining in the third.
Just two-and-a-half minutes earlier, Flames new-guy centre Derek Ryan had sizzled a splendid pass through two defenders to Sam Bennett, who made a confident move to his backhand for the tying tally.
As Bennett tucked it away, back-checker Kevin Fiala crashed into Rinne. Although he didn’t exit immediately, the marquee masked man hooked himself three stoppages later.
Saros would deliver nine saves — including dandies on Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund — to seal the win, while Bennett slid a shot just wide on a glorious opportunity.
“Those are the ones you have nightmares about,” Bennett said with a groan. “You can replay it as much as you want in your head, but it’s not going to change anything.”
The game-changer turned out to be Rinaldo, who now has a grand total of 15 goals — two of ’em winners — on his career resumé. Just as Saros was starting to break a sweat, the tough-guy forward called his own number on an odd-man rush and found daylight on Mike Smith’s blocker side.
Elias Lindholm provided a goal and an assist for the homeside in Friday’s defeat, while Matthew Tkachuk also scored and captain Mark Giordano chipped in with a pair of helpers.
The Predators were shut out by the Flames last Tuesday — their only loss of the season so far — but ensured early that they wouldn’t be blanked again, with Ryan Johansen going top-shelf only 51 seconds after the anthems. It was an especially tough start for defender TJ Brodie, who lost his stick and then lost his man on the opening strike.
Perhaps trying to put Rinne to sleep in Nashville’s crease, the Flames didn’t muster a single shot on goal for a span of 16-plus minutes in Friday’s opening frame.
When they finally snapped out of that funk, it was worth the wait — superstar Johnny Gaudreau tricked Rinne into glancing the wrong way as he cruised behind the net, then plattered a no-look pass to Lindholm for the short-side snipe.
The visitors reclaimed the lead after pestering rookie rearguard Juuso Valimaki into a turnover in his own zone. With both Valimaki and Brodie closer to the corner than the front of the net, Craig Smith was chilling all alone before his backhand finish.
The Flames again equalized when Lindholm’s shot deflected off Tkachuk’s skate on a secondperiod power-play, but it wasn’t tied for long. With James Neal seated for high-sticking, Fiala netted a man-advantage marker.
The Predators, to their credit, answered every time their hosts knotted the score.
Filip Forsberg quashed any hopes of a comeback with a late empty-netter.
“That’s a tough pillow to swallow right now, that loss. Honestly, we really felt like we could have at least got that game into overtime,” Giordano said. “We could have probably pumped a few more pucks in the crease and at the net and got some traffic (in front of Saros), but you have to give them credit, too. They’re a good team for a reason. They do a good job of defending, and I thought they did a good job towards the end.”
The Flames will now pack their carry-ons for a two-game trek — Sunday’s showdown with the New York Rangers on Broadway and then Tuesday’s meeting against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.