Overworked and exhausted. That should be the title of the Calgary Flames recent Central Division road trip. After a three-game homestand that was followed up with a date in Chicago, the Flames – sore and banged up – faced-off against the Nashville Predators for their fifth game in just eight days.
The Flames who were coming off a 5-2 win the night before, were clearly still recovering from their date at the United Center as they looked sluggish and worn out throughout much of the first period. This slow start would leak into the second period, as the Predators would go up by two goals courtesy of Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene.
Nashville Predator, Mikael Granlund (yellow), scores on
Flames net minder, Dan Vladar (white), in the shootout.
Photo by John Russell / NHLI via Getty Images
It came as no surprise to see both Forsberg and Duchene under the goal column on Tuesday night as they lead their club in goals with 39 and 40, respectively. The two forwards, who are also in the top three in team scoring, are having breakout campaigns, registering record point seasons. Forsberg’s 39 goals and 76 points have broken his previous record of 33 and 64, while Duchene’s 40 goal and 78-point plateau have edged out his previous 30 goal and 70-point highs.
For much of the season, the Predators – who currently sit in the first Western Conference wildcard position – have relied on both forwards production this season and are hoping their torrent pace continues. As a matter of fact, if ‘Smashville’ wants to maintain their playoff position and make a deep postseason push, Duchene and Forsberg have to be leading the charge.
Speaking of the postseason, the game between the Flames and Predators also gave us a sneak peek into a potential first-round matchup in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If the Predators remain in the first wildcard position while the Flames solidify top spot in the Pacific Division, it is guaranteed that the two teams will face off in the first round. If their meeting on Tuesday is any indication, a first-round series between the two clubs has the potential to be a certified barnburner. After all, their second (of three) meetings on the season was a heavy hitting, fast paced, and high intensity battle that extended into overtime.
These are the type of games that Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane thinks help a team mesh and refine their craft, especially with the playoff season right around the corner.
“You want to play these last games here like its playoff time because playoffs are coming soon. You’re preparing yourself the whole season, but now is the time to really dial in,” said Mangiapane.
While Nashville started off the game firing on all cylinders, their opposition was dealing with more of a slow burn. Despite the Nashville gaining a 2-0 advantage, a pesky Flames club refused to roll over in exhaustion despite playing in their second game of a back-to-back. For those counting, this would mark the Flames 15th out of 16 back-to-back on the season.
For Mangiapane, the second-half comeback showed what kind of team the Flames are and what is expected from the team come playoff time.
“It shows we want to win and we’re resilient. We’re a good team when all four lines are going and all the three D-pairs. [Dan Vladar] played a great game for us back there.”
It ended up being forward Andrew Mangiapane who kickstarted the comeback for the Flames, scoring his 33rdmarker late in the second period. The notion of the Flames trailing hockey games have been made somewhat foreign this season considering they’ve scored first in 49 of their 77 games played so far.
Mangiapane’s tally would end up being a significant one for teammate Matthew Tkachuk, as his assist on the goal would mark his 99th point on the season. One more than his father Keith, who registered a career high of 98 points on April. 14, 1996, with the Winnipeg Jets. What made the point even more special for Matthew, was having his parents in attendance for it.
The Flames would go on to score the lone goal in the third period – courtesy of Andrew Mangiapane, again – evening the score at two apiece.
3-on-3 overtime would end up solving nothing, leaving the score to be settled in a shootout.
After Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk were both stopped by Predator netminder Juuse Saros, fellow Finn Mikael Granlund was able to beat Dan Vladar at the other end, giving Nashville the extra point.
After the game, Flames backup goaltender Dan Vladar put the brunt of the team’s loss on his own shoulders.
“Everytime that I get the call im trying to do my best. Give the team a chance to win. My job is to stop the puck and it doesn’t matter if it’s 2-to-2 on shots or 100-to-5,” said Vladar.
The loss would be the second time the Flames would fall to the Predators by a score of 3-2 this season, having lost in overtime on Nov. 2. Matt Duchene would be the overtime hero on that occasion. But, it doesn’t look like the Flames are losing much sleep on their two losses to a potential first-round opponent. On the contrary, Vladar thinks Nashville are the ones that should be concerned.
“We showed [Nashville] that they don’t want to play us. It was 2-0 and they maybe thought that it’d be an easy game and then all of a sudden we got those ‘bulldogs’ in front and they just score. Doesn’t matter how. It can be ugly or it can be nice,” said Vladar.
The Flames will have one final crack at Nashville before the playoffs as they visit Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, April 26.
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