Game Four Preview: Flames visit Nashville

Tonight's matchup will see the Flames visit the Predators in the Bridgestone Center, Nashville, Tennessee at 6PM. It’s the first of three games with the two clubs this season, with a match in Calgary on Halloween night and a return to the Peach Capital on March 29th. For the Flames, it’s the third game of a six-game road trip. They started out by defeating the Edmonton Oilers, 5-2 on Thursday night and a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. They'll continue with the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, and the Winnipeg Jets next Sunday. The Preds are closing up a three game season opening homestand. They started the season on Thursday by defeating the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 before downing the Dallas Stars, 4-1 on Saturday.

March 21st was the last time Calgary faced off with Nashville. It was 4-4 midway through the second period when both teams decided to pull their goaltenders. Mike Cammalleri had two goals and an assist, Kris Russell lit the lamp once with two helpers, Mikael Backlund had a goal and an assist, and Mark Giordano had two assists in what would end with a 6-5 loss to Nashville. Matt Cullen had a goal and three assists to lead the Predators. The four goaltenders combined to make 40 saves on 51 shots, led by Carter Hutton, who earned the victory by stopping 10-of-11 Calgary shot attempts. * Box Score * Full Recap

Then-Flame Mike Cammalleri spoke after the game:

Right to the end, I thought we almost had one at the end there, too. It would have been nice. You can't expect to win games when you give up six, for sure. One thing we're proud of, especially in the last little while, is not giving up as many chances. Tonight, we would like to do a better job of that.

In Calgary's last game action, the Flames spotted the Blues four goals before making any impact on the scoreboard, dropping a 4-1 decision in St. Louis. Joakim Lindstrom, David Backes (PP), Alex Pietrangelo (PP), and Vladimir Tarasenko lit the lamp for the Blues, while Kevin Shattenkirk and Paul Stastny earned three assists apiece. Curtis Glencross saved the Flames from getting shutout with four minutes left in the game, with assists from Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie. Brian Elliott stopped 23-of-24 Flames' shots for the win. For the Flames, Jonas Hiller turned aside 35 shots for the loss. * Box Score * Full Recap

Here's some highlights of the Flames and Blues.

Flames coach Bob Hartley spoke later in the locker room:

I think the game was in the image of their first goal. A couple of our guys get tangled up and they get a 3-on-1 out of it. Playing a team with so much talent, so much depth, you don't want to give them early momentum and they got [it].

In Nashville's last game, they took it to the Dallas Stars to the tune of 4-1. Eric Nystrom had a goal and two assists, while Paul Gaustad and Shea Weber each scored a goal and an assist. Roman Josi also lit the lamp for the Preds. For Dallas, resident face-puncher Antoine Roussel lit the lamp to go along with 14 penalty minutes. * Box Score * Full Recap

GameTime: 6PM MT

Where2Watch: SN 360

All-Time Record: The Flames are 26-27-4-2 all time against the Predators, and have been outscored by seven goals in 59 contests.

Current Record

Calgary Flames: 1-2-0, two points, on pace for 55 points, fifth in the Pacific Division, 10th in the Western Conference, 20th in the NHL. Last five: X-X-L-W-L. Playoff Odds: 47.1%

Nashville Predators: 2-0-0, four points, on pace for 164 points, tied for first in the Central Division, tied for first in the Western Conference, tied for second in the NHL. Last five: X-X-X-W-W. Playoff Odds: 71.6%

Common Thread

Brian McGrattan played parts of two seasons with the Predators, earning two assists in 32 contests, along with 61 penalty minutes.

Nashville is the eighth team that Olli Jokinen played for, including the Flames. In four seasons with Calgary, he scored 59 goals with 106 assists.

Elsewhere

The NHL has eight other games on tap for your viewing pleasure.

New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers, 5PM
Anaheim Ducks vs. Philadelphia Flyers, 5PM
San Jose Sharks vs. Washington Capitals, 5PM
Dallas Stars vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 5PM
Buffalo Sabres vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 5:30PM
Colorado Avalanche vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 5:30PM
New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, 5:30PM
Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings, 8:30PM

Milestones

Jiri Hudler is still two points short of #300 for his career, and Devin Setoguchi is one point shy of 250 for his career.
Mikael Backlund will appear in his 250th NHL game.
Curtis Glencross’ next goal will give him 107 with Calgary, tying him with German Titov in 24th on the all-time list.

Probable Starting Lineups

Calgary Flames

Line 1	Jiri Hudler	Sean Monahan	Devin Setoguchi
Line 2	Curtis Glencross	Mikael Backlund	Paul Byron
Line 3	Johnny Gaudreau	Joe Colborne	Mason Raymond
Line 4	Brandon Bollig	Matt Stajan	Lance Bouma
Defensive Pair 1	Mark Giordano	TJ Brodie
Defensive Pair 2	Dennis Wideman	Ladislav Smid
Defensive Pair 3	Kris Russell	Deryk Engelland
Reserves	Brian McGrattan	David Jones	Raphael Diaz
Starting Goalie	Karri Ramo
Reserve Goalie	Jonas Hiller

Nashville Predators

Line 1	Gabriel Bourque	Mike Ribeiro	James Neal
Line 2	Filip Forsberg	Derek Roy	Craig Smith
Line 3	Colin Wilson	Calle Jarnkrok	Olli Jokinen
Line 4	Richard Clune	Paul Gaustad	Eric Nystrom
Defensive Pair 1	Roman Josi	Shea Weber
Defensive Pair 2	Anton Volchenkov	Seth Jones
Defensive Pair 3	Mattias Ekholm	Ryan Ellis
Reserves	Matt Cullen	Mike Fisher	Viktor Stalberg
Starting Goalie	Pekka Rinne
Reserve Goalie	Carter Hutton

Team Leaders

Ice Time: Defensemen - Mark Giordano - 23:17, TJ Brodie - 23:01
Forwards - Curtis Glencross - 18:13, Mikael Backlund - 18:00, Mason Raymond - 16:31

Goals: Mason Raymond - 3, Jiri Hudler - 2, TJ Brodie, Curtis Glencross, Paul Byron - 1

Assists: Joe Colborne - 4, Mark Giordano - 3, Sean Monahan - 2

Points: Joe Colborne - 4, Mason Raymond, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano - 3

Shots-on-Goal: Mason Raymond - 10, TJ Brodie, Curtis Glencross, Sean Monahan - 7

Faceoffs: Mikael Backlund - 52.9% (36-of-68), Matt Stajan - 51.5% (17-of-33), Joe Colborne - 51.0% (25-of-49)

Hits: Curtis Glencross - 13, Brandon Bollig - 11, Joe Colborne - 8

Blocked Shots: Kris Russell - 11, Mark Giordano - 6, Ladislav Smid - 5