Glencross scores 3 to lead Flames past Predators

[March 16, 2013]  CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Curtis Glencross had his second career hat trick as the Calgary Flames beat the Nashville Predators 6-3 on Friday night for their sixth straight home win.

Mark Giordano, Blake Comeau and Jiri Hudler also scored for Calgary, which led 2-0 just 8 minutes into the game after scoring on its first two shots.

Gabriel Bourque had his team-leading ninth goal for Nashville, and Mike Fisher and David Legwand also scored.

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, who came in with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .9191 save-percentage, was pulled for the second straight night after Comeau's goal put the Flames up two. While he leads the NHL with five shutouts, Rinne has been pulled in four of his last eight starts.

Giordano opened the scoring at 6:20 when he skated in from the blue line and fired a perfect wrist shot just inside the goal post on Rinne, who was partially screened.

The Flames doubled their lead on a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play off an offensive rush. Darting down the left wing, Mikael Backlund zipped a cross-ice pass to Hudler who immediately sent the puck back into the middle where Comeau deflected it behind Rinne.

Nashville coach Barry Trotz then pulled Rinne, who was also yanked 5:32 into the second period the previous night after giving up four goals on 12 shots in a 7-4 loss at Vancouver.

After losing all three games on a disappointing California road trip to sink to last place in the Western Conference, the Flames have responded with consecutive wins at the Scotiabank Saddledome, also beating Detroit 5-2 on Wednesday.

Nashville opened its five-game road trip with a win in Dallas, but has lost two straight since.

Leading 3-1 after two periods, Glencross put the Flames up three at 1:14 of the third. Skating to the net off the wing, Lee Stempniak's slap shot from the opposite wing rang off the goal post and out the other side where it deflected off Glencross' leg and in.

After Fisher got Nashville back within two at 3:15, Glencross struck again at 5:32, converting a setup from Stempniak. Glencross wrapped up the scoring into an empty net with 20 seconds left, prompting a bunch of white stetsons to be thrown onto the ice after they were given away during what was billed as Western night.

Glencross has four goals and two assists in two games after missing two games with a wrist injury. He leads the Flames with 12 goals.

Calgary surged in front 3-0 2:20 into the second period when Hudler connected on the power play for his first goal in 15 games. Set up in the slot, Hudler redirected Mike Cammalleri's hard centering pass behind Predators backup goalie Chris Mason. While he hadn't been scoring, Hudler had still been involved in the offence picking up seven assists during his goalless stretch.

Nashville got on the scoreboard less than two minutes later on a power-play goal. Shea Weber's shot from the blue line was tipped by Bourque past Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

Kiprusoff finished with 17 saves, while Mason had 16.

NOTES: Last year against Calgary, Rinne was 3-1-0 with a 1.25 GAA and .958 save percentage ... Calgary used the identical lineup that beat Detroit on Wednesday. ... Nashville LW Sergei Kostitsyn was a healthy scratch. Inserted into his spot was C Chris Mueller, who was recalled Wednesday from Milwaukee (AHL). It was Mueller's first game of the season and 20th of his career. ... It was the first of three meetings between the two teams who will meet in Nashville on Thursday.

[Associated Press]

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