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CALGARY- The Nashville Predators extended their surge in the standings with a win over the Flames at the Pengrowth Saddledome Saturday.
Calgary was unable to win behind the sound positioning of goalie Miikka Kiprusoff and a three-point performance from right wing Jarome Iginla. Nashville triumphed thanks to a combination of opportunistic offense, mobile defense and the exemplary play of Martin Erat and Marcel Goc, who each had a three-point afternoon of their own.
Since their previous meeting in Nashville, a 5-0 win for Calgary, the Predators and Flames captain Jarome Iginla had been heading in opposite directions. The Predators were riding a 6-1-2 tear heading into Saturday’s game while Iginla had not notched a goal since putting a power-play marker past Pekka Rinne in that contest.
Iginla snapped his slump by getting in on all three Calgary goals including a second-period tally that knotted the game at two as Iginla’s wrist shot seared the twine behind Nashville netminder Dan Ellis. He added a go-ahead goal seven minutes later that deflected in off Nashville’s Dan Hamhuis. In signature fashion, Iginla’s output became stronger as the game went on, but his efforts went for naught against the poised Predators.
“It was a game that we definitely feel we should have gotten two points out of,” Iginla told the Associated Press. “We’ve got ourselves in a bit of a rut where in third periods we’re not closing it out and finding ways to get points out of it and wins.”
Excellent efforts from Martin Erat– whose three-point performance moved his point total to an impressive 15 in his last 10 games—and Marcel Goc helped the Preds surmount the late scratches to goalie Pekka Rinne and first-line center Jason Arnott, who both missed the match due to illness.
Goc and Jason Smithson assisted Erat to get the scoring going early in the first frame. Erat and Patric Hornqvist set up a David Legwand goal eight minutes later to give the Preds a 2-0 lead.
Dion Phaneuf, who played confidently in all three zones all afternoon, got the Flames on the board before the first intermission with a power play goal from Mark Giordano and Iginla off a strong wrist shot that deflected off a defender in front of the net.
The second period belonged to Iginla, whose two-goal stanza put Calgary in the lead. But late in the period a Calgary clearing attempt blocked by Cody Franson, a shot on goal from Joel Ward, a blown defensive assignment by Aaron Johnson and an easy tap-in for Goc came in quick succession to give the lead back to Nashville.
Iginla and the Flames were not finished as they battled through the third period. Dion Phaneuf continued hitting the net with sharp, accurate wristers—he led the Flames with six shots on goal—and Iginla made an effort to extend his dominance in the third. His most energetic shift of the game came just past the midway point of the third, peaking when his work down low culminated in a golden chance for Olli Jokinen to tap the puck into an open right side of the Nashville net. Jokinen missed the shot wide and the Flames’ best chance for an equalizer was lost.
Dave Scratchard added an empty-netter for Nashville to seal the victory with 26 seconds remaining in the final frame.
Nashville’s defense was quick to join the rush early and their willingness to accelerate the offense left Calgary loose defensively and out of position for much of the first period. Despite a 25-9 shot advantage in the final 40 minutes, the Flames could not hang onto the lead.
The Predators weathered the storm defensively and cashed in on its rare chances to get the puck past Kiprusoff whose dominant glove hand and keen positioning were on display for much of the game despite his allowing 4 goals on 19 shots.
Marcel Goc exemplified the Preds’ tough, timely play by not only contributing on the scoresheet but also by leading the Predators in third period ice time and winning several key faceoffs.
The Preds’ victory was less a work of art than an exercise in the sloppy, sweet science of winning ugly.
“Early in the year, we tried to play way too perimeter, a little too cute,” Trotz said to the AP. “We got back to very basic hockey. Now it’s throw some pucks on the net and go to the hard areas and you get rewarded. That’s what most teams do in our league now.”
The Flames continued to juggle wingers on the line with Iginla and Jokinen, giving at least one shift to Dustin Boyd, Fredrik Sjostrom, Rene Bourque and Curtis Glencross.
Bourque generated a strong chance on the rush early in the game but failed to lift the puck past Ellis and Glencross assisted on the first of Iginla’s two tallies.
Calgary failed to capture back-to-back home wins following their 2-1 victory over Los Angeles Thursday. The Flames have not won consecutive home games since a three-win streak in mid-October.
They host St. Louis on Wednesday and should have plenty of rest and practice time this week as they have only two contests and no travel on their schedule. Both teams will face Vancouver this week, Nashville on Tuesday and Calgary on Sunday’s Flames Pay-Per-View.
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