|
 Flames right winger Jiri Hudler, defenseman TJ Brodie and left
winger Johnny Gaudreau all scored in a span of 4:01 in the third
period as the hosts stormed back for a 4-3 victory over the visiting
Predators on Friday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
"It was a bad four minutes," said Predators coach Peter Laviolette.
Most of the 18,505 fans in attendance didn't feel that way.
The Flames trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes, but Hudler evened the score
2:36 after the intermission after a crafty setup from center Markus
Granlund, who was skating in his first NHL game of the season after
Wednesday's recall from the AHL's Adirondack Flames.
With the Flames on the power play less than two minutes later,
Brodie's attempted pass to right winger David Jones deflected off
Predators captain Shea Weber and past goalie Pekka Rinne for the
go-ahead goal.
At 6:37 of the third period, Gaudreau would lift a wrist shot over
Rinne's right shoulder for what turned out to be the game-winning
goal.
Center Sean Monahan also scored for the Flames (6-4-2), while left
winger James Neal scored a pair for the Predators (6-2-2) and center
Craig Smith added another.
 However, the star of the night was Gaudreau, who also assisted on
Hudler's goal. Less than a month into his first professional season,
the former Boston College Eagles star is blossoming into a favorite
in Calgary, where fans are buzzing about his eye-popping offensive
abilities.
"Tonight, it was Halloween dance for Johnny," said Flames coach Bob
Hartley. "He was dancing."
"When he's flying and making those moves and dancing around guys,
that's pretty special to see," said Monahan. "Obviously it gets
people out of their seats. He's a talented player. He does that
every day."
Neal would score his second goal of the night on the power play with
9:13 remaining in Friday's third period, but that was as close as
the Predators would get.
Flames goalie Jonas Hiller finished with 28 saves, while Rinne made
26 stops.
"For two periods, I loved the way we played," said Neal, who leads
the Predators with seven goals this season. "In this league, if a
team hangs around long enough and gets a few bounces, they're right
back in it and give themselves some life.
[to top of second column] |
"We know what was at stake going into that third period and we
knew what we had to do and we just let it slip away for a little
bit. We'll learn from that and get better. But other than that, I
liked what we did."
After a scoreless opening period, Monahan struck first for the
Flames at the 4:23 mark of the middle frame, tucking a rebound
behind Rinne after a blast by defenseman Dennis Wideman on the power
play.
Calgary's lead lasted only 67 seconds, as Smith buried Ryan Ellis'
rebound at the other end to tie it up. About six minutes later,
Nashville's Mike Ribeiro bettered Monahan on a faceoff and slid the
puck back to Neal, who made no mistake on the shot.
The next stop for the Predators on their six-game road-swing is
Vancouver, where they'll face the Canucks on Sunday. The Flames are
headed to Montreal for Sunday's contest with the Canadiens, their
first of five straight road games.
NOTES: Flames LW Michael Ferland made his NHL debut against the
Predators but exited late in the second period with an upper-body
injury and did not return. The 22-year-old Ferland had been a
point-per-game guy for AHL's Adirondack Flames, with four goals and
five assists in nine appearances. ... The Flames also recalled C
Markus Granlund after two of their usual centers -- Matt Stajan
(knee) and Mikael Backlund (abdomen) -- were placed on injured
reserve. The Flames are also missing RW Joe Colborne (upper-body)
and LW Mason Raymond (shoulder) due to injuries ... C Calle Jarnkrok
(upper-body) and C Mike Fisher (Achilles) are sidelined for the
Predators ... Predators C Olli Jokinen knows his way around the
Scotiabank Saddledome. In two separate stints with the Flames,
Jokinen scored 59 goals and added 106 assists in 236 regular-season
contests for Calgary.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
