HEARTBREAK IN NASHVILLE
Late goal costs Flames a win
In this honky-tonk town, a country music crooner might be able to turn this into a chart-topping tear-jerker.
The Calgary Flames were a split second from celebrating a win over one of their wild card rivals on Thursday in Music City, but the host Nashville Predators buried a buzzer beater and completed the comeback with a 4-3 overtime triumph.
There was just a fraction of a second showing on the clock when Nashville’s Mikael Granlund scored the equalizer from the edge of the blue paint.
“It’s a tough one to swallow,” said Flames centre Mikael Backlund after a three-point performance. “We were so close to winning, and they came back.”
Oh so close.
“It’s a tough way to lose, there’s no doubt about that,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano, back in the lineup after being shelved three weeks by a sore hamstring. “The puck seemed at the end like it was bouncing all around our net, and they whacked it home.”
During a late scramble, Predators winger Filip Forsberg managed to feed Granlund at the doorstep, and he hurried a shot past David Rittich in Calgary’s crease as the horn sounded. Officials reviewed the goal to ensure that time hadn’t expired.
The 28-year-old Granlund struck again in the bonus session, fishing a puck out of Erik Gustafsson’s skates after he had blocked a pass attempt in the slot and went top shelf to send the Flames to a gut-wrenching loss.
Sure, they collected a valuable point. Sure, it was another impressive effort in enemy territory. But this one hurts.
After all, Thursday’s showdown was a biggie for both sides, with the Flames sitting two points up on the Predators in the race for wild card slots in the NHL’S Western Conference. That gap is now one.
“It’s a game of inches, right?” said Flames interim coach Geoff Ward after Thursday’s deflating loss. “You have to play it right to the last whistle. Every play is important. So yeah, it was unfortunate, but we’ll take the point, for sure, and we’ll be happy with probably 98 per cent of the hockey game.”
Backlund was a beast in this feisty affair, continuing his recent splurge with a fluke goal and two highlight reel assists.
In the final minute of regulation time, the Flames’ second-line centre bowled his way from end to end, fending off checks from Granlund, Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi before a dandy dish set up linemate Andrew Mangiapane for the go-ahead goal with 43 seconds to play.
On any other night, it would have been the game-winner.
“You have 42 seconds left, and you have the lead,” Ward said. “They came back with a good push, obviously. They’re playing for their lives right now, too. They’re the same as us — they’re fighting for those last two spots.”
Despite the last-second heartbreak, the Calgary crew sports a 2-0-1 record on their longest junket of the season.
Next up is Saturday’s matinee against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena (2 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/sportsnet 960 The Fan), their fourth stop on a five-game swing.
If they waste any time feeling sorry for themselves, the Bolts will certainly add to their misery. In fact, Tampa Bay will be in an ornery mood, too, after surrendering five third-period goals in a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
“Obviously, we have to learn from it and figure out what went wrong,” Mangiapane said prior to the flight to Tampa. “But we still have five out of six points right now on this road trip, so we have to look at it as a whole. We’re playing good hockey right now, and we just have to keep doing that.”
Backlund now has nine goals in as many games, a scorcher by any standards, but especially impressive when you consider he had just six tallies in 56 outings prior to that.
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After a 10-game layoff, Giordano was not only back in action — he was immediately back on the top pairing against the Predators.
“Our staff, our medicals guys and the trainers, have been great — they’ve put in a lot of time, a lot of hours with me,” Giordano said prior to the puck drop. “I’m thankful to them. It feels really good.”
The Flames posted a 6-4 mark without their workhorse defenceman and heart-and-soul leader. He was credited with two shots, a hit and two blocked shots in his return in Nashville.
Giordano averages nearly 24 minutes per night — he logged 21:34 in Nashville — so it could turn out to be a blessing that the 36-year-old is feeling rested and refreshed for the stretch run.