Game 12 Preview: Calgary Flames Vs. Nashville Predators

Tonight at 7PM, the Calgary Flames will host the Nashville Predators in the ScotiaBank Saddledome. It will be the second of three games this season between the clubs. They met on October 14th in Nashville, when the Flames skated out with a 3-2 shootout victory. They’ll return to Music City on March 29th to close out the series. This is the final game of a five game homestand for the Flames. They started out with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last Tuesday, defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 two days later, lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-1 on Saturday, and dropped a shootout decision to the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 on Tuesday. The Preds are in the second game of a six-game roadtrip. They defeated the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, and will go on to play the Vancouver Canucks (11/2), the Winnipeg Jets (11/4), the Dallas Stars (11/6), and the St. Louis Blues (11/8).

The last time Calgary faced off with Nashville, as already noted above, was on October 14th. Filip Forsberg (1) opened the scoring in the first, but was matched just a minute later by TJ Brodie’s second marker of the campaign. Mark Giordano took the lead for the Flames in the second with his second of the year, on the power play, but was matched 10 minutes later by Mike Ribiero (1). After a scoreless third period and overtime, Joe Colborne was the only skater to earn a marker, selling the win for the Flames. Karri Ramo earned the win by turning aside 19-of-21 shots, and Pekka Rinne stopped 26-of-28 shots. * Box Score * Full Recap

Brodie spoke to the media later:

"[Giordano's] got a great shot and usually when he shoots it, it's either in the net or it's a good chance for a rebound," Brodie said. "That's definitely a big key. I'm just jumping up in the play. It's always big to be that fourth man or even the third man if we can."

For more on the Predators, check out On the Forecheck.

Calgary's last game was on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens (as is their next, incidentally). Calgary skated circles around the Habs for most of the game, outshooting the bad guys 38-to-19 but only matching them at one goal apiece after 60 minutes. Mark Giordano (2) scored the Flames’ goal with assists from Johnny Gaudreau and TJ Brodie, and Tom Gilbert earned the marker for Montreal. After a scoreless overtime, PA Parenteau finally beat Jonas Hiller (who has stopped 117 of his previous 120 shots) in the third round of the shootout for the final 2-1 margin, advantage Canadiens. Carey Price earned the win with 37 saves (plus three more in the shootout). * Box Score * Full Recap

Flames coach Bob Hartley talked about the Flames' superior effort after the game:

In my book there's only one positive, and it's the two points. I don't think I can ask for anything more from my guys. What a great game. I think our fans saw a great goalie battle. Just couldn't capitalize on a couple of scoring chances, and that was the difference in the game.

Eyes On The Prize has your Habs.

Nashville’s last game would see them dominate the Edmonton Oilers to the tune of 4-1. Taylor Hall scored the only marker for the Oilers, as Nashville enjoyed two goals by Craig Smith and one each from Taylor Beck and Shea Weber. Roman Josi had two assists in the win. Pekka Rinne was nearly perfect, making 26 stops while Ben Scrivens was less so, stopping 31-of-35 in his loss. * Box Score * Full Recap

Weber spoke later:

I think using our speed and getting the puck up to our forwards is key. Our forwards can really skate and using their wide speed, they pushed their defense back and made some good plays.

More on the Edmonton Oilers can be found at the Copper and Blue.

GameTime: 7PM MT

Where2Watch: FS-TN, SNW

All-Time Record: Calgary has a 27-27-6 record against the Predators.

Current Record

Calgary Flames: 5-4-2, 12 points, on pace for 89 points. Fifth in the Pacific Division, 10th in the Western Conference, 20th in the NHL. Last Five: W-O-W-L-O. Playoff Odds: 56.0%.

Nashville Predators: 6-1-2, 14 points, on pace for 128 points. First in the Central Division, tied for second in the Western Conference, tied for third in the NHL. Last Five: O-O-W-L-W. Playoff Odds: 81.4%.

Elsewhere

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 7PM
Los Angeles Kings vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7:30PM

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars, 8:30PM

Probable Starting Lineups

Calgary Flames

Line 1	Curtis Glencross	Sean Monahan	David Jones
Line 2	Johnny Gaudreau	Paul Byron	Devin Setoguchi
Line 3	Michael Ferland	Markus Granlund	Jiri Hudler
Line 4	Brandon Bollig	Lance Bouma	Brian McGrattan
Defensive Pair 1	TJ Brodie	Mark Giordano
Defensive Pair 2	Kris Russell	Dennis Wideman
Defensive Pair 3	Ladislav Smid	Deryk Engelland
Starting Goalie	Karri Ramo
Reserve Goalie	Jonas Hiller

Nashville Predators

Line 1	Filip Forsberg	Mike Ribeiro	James Neal
Line 2	Matt Cullen	Derek Roy	Craig Smith
Line 3	Olli Jokinen	Colin Wilson	Taylor Beck
Line 4	Gabriel Bourque	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
Starting Goalie	Pekka Rinne
Reserve Goalie	Carter Hutton

Flames Leaders

Average Time on Ice: Defensemen - TJ Brodie - 24:52, Mark Giordano - 23:58
Forwards - Mikael Backlund - 17:51, Mason Raymond - 17:28, Jiri Hudler - 17:16

Goals: Dennis Wideman, Mason Raymond - 5, TJ Brodie - 3

Assists: Joe Colborne - 8, Mark Giordano, Kris Russell - 6

Points: Joe Colborne, Mark Giordano, TJ Brodie - 8

Penalty Minutes: Curtis Glencross, Brandon Bollig - 16, Mark Giordano - 15

Shots-on-Goal: Sean Monahan - 29, Mark Giordano - 27, Mason Raymond - 24

Faceoffs: Sean Monahan (95-for-187) - 50.8%, Mikael Backlund (110-for-218) - 50.5%, Joe Colborne (67-for-133) - 50.4%

Hits: Curtis Glencross - 28, Brandon Bollig, Lance Bouma - 25

Blocked Shots: Kris Russell - 34, Mark Giordano - 28, TJ Brodie - 20

Make sure to keep checking back with us as gametime approaches, join us for the live gamethread, watch for the game capsule by Ari, and check out our morning after stats breakdown.