5 THINGS - FLAMES @ PREDATORS
The Flames are back in Nashville for a possible First Round preview
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt in Nashville
NEED-TO-KNOW
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GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'It's Paying Off' - Dube
Projected Lineup
Say What - 'Winning Hardens You'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
Head-to-Head Stats
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Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Johnny Gaudreau (111)
Goals - Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm (40)
Predators:
Points - Roman Josi (91)
Goals - Matt Duchene (410
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP - 23.6% (8th) / PK - 84.0% (5th)
Predators:
PP - 24.5% (6th) / PK - 78.9% (19th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 55.79% (3rd)
High-Danger Chances: 55.68% (2nd)
Predators:
Shot Attempts: 49.73% (17th)
High-Danger Chances: 50.94% (14th)
What better way to close the book on one of the best regular seasons at home in franchise history?
The Flames doubled-up the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 6-3 on Fan Appreciation Night, earning their 25th home victory and their eighth, overall, in their last 10 tries.
It was a party-like atmosphere at the old barn Saturday - and why not?
The next time the Flames and their beloved C of Red will reconvene at the Scotiabank Saddledome, it will be for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs next week.
Elias Lindholm scored his 40th goal of the season before adding an assist, while Dillon Dube struck for his first two-tally effort of the campaign to lead the way offensively.
Dube now has six goals in his last six games and a career-high 16 on the season.
Brett Ritchie, Nikita Zadorov and Johnny Gaudreau (empty net) rounded out the scoring, while Dan Vladar stopped 30 of 33 shots. Jacob Markstrom was given the night off, paving the way for rookie pro Dustin Wolf - who's been torching the American Hockey League this year - to serve as the backup.
"We want to keep going here and have a good feeling before the playoffs," Lindholm said. "My first year here (in 2018-19), where we clinched early, it felt like we kind of slowed down a little bit before the playoffs started and it's hard to turn it on again like that. We've got to keep going and keep building our game and create the good feeling before the playoffs."
The Flames got a big effort from the Ritchie, Trevor Lewis and Milan Lucic line. The trio set the tone with a heavy forechecking game, leading to a crucial go-ahead goal only 14 seconds after the Canucks tied it in the third period.
"We're put in a role where we're trying to be hard to play against," Ritchie said. "We're not going to be getting odd-man rushes every other shift like Lindy's line, but when you can chip in in a tight game like that, it's good for yourself and good for the team.
"For us three, we're sort of similar players and we want to be predictable. I think if we each know what each other is going to do every shift, it's easier to read off each other and you want to be miserable to play against.
"That's the sign of a good team."
Video: "We have a belief system that's in place"
A point taken, or a point earned?
Down by one against one of the top teams in the division, with a little more than five minutes left in the third period, in a game that could send you to the playoffs?
You can't complain too much.
Dante Fabbro scored one of the biggest goals of his career to even the score late, but Minnesota defenceman Dmitry Kulikov - the unlikeliest of heroes - put home the winner with 1.3 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Wild to a 5-4 win over the Predators on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.
Filip Forsberg scored and hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career while adding a pair of helpers in the defeat. Mikael Granlund had three apples, and former Flames goalie David Rittich - who's been used sparingly this season - was bombarded with a season-high 47 shots.
Matt Duchene (with his team-leading 41st of the year) and Ryan Johansen also scored for the Preds, who have lost two straight after clipping the Flames in a shootout one week ago.
"Both teams battled hard," Nashville Head Coach John Hynes told John Glennon of NHL.com. "There was a lot of emotion, a lot of special teams, a lot of momentum swings. But I thought our guys really battled hard tonight. We earned a point. We'd like to get two points, but we've got to take some things out of it and get ready for Calgary on Tuesday."
The Predators would have clinched a playoff spot had they earned a regulation win (along with a regulation win for the Sharks over the Vegas Golden Knights). Instead, they currently occupy the first wild-card spot, one point up on the Dallas Stars that would ensure a date with the Flames in the First Round.
The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are three points back of a playoff spot and four back of the Predators with three games to go.
It's all but locked up now.
What remains to be seen how the seeding shakes out - and if tonight's clash in the Music City will, indeed, be a preview for when the playoffs get going next week.
COURTESY OF FLAMES PR
FIRE IT UP: With the win on Saturday - the 49th of the season - the Flames now have 108 points, which is the second most in a season in franchise history, trailing the 1989 Stanley Cup-winning outfit (117 points). With three games left in the regular season and six points on the table, the Flames could come with three points of the single-season record.
JOHNNY B. GREAT: Johnny Gaudreau recorded two points in Saturday's victory and now has 111 points on the season, the second-most in franchise history passing Joe Mullen's 110 points set in 1988-89 (most: Kent Nilsson - 131 points in 1980-81). ... Gaudreau also notched his 72nd assist and is now in sole possession of the third-most assists in a season, passing Bob MacMillan (71 in 1978-79), and is only three apples away from catching Al MacInnis at 75, the second-most in a season.
DID YOU KNOW? With his 111 points this season, Johnny Gaudreau is tied for the third-most points by a U.S.-born player in a single season in NHL history (tied with Kevin Stevens - 1992-93). Gaudreau's 111 points are one more than Patrick Kane's career-high of 110, which he set in during the 2015-16 campaign.
Stick tap to Flames PR guru Dalton Ulrich for compiling these nuggets
Flames - Milan Lucic
Like a rhinestone cowbooooooyRiding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo…
On Saturday, Looch arrived at the 'Dome rocking a form-fitting leather sport coat with a velveteen sheen, an all-black button-down, bolo tie, and the pièce de resistance - a beautifully pressed cowboy hat that struck all the chords.
Tweet from @NHLFlames: Giddy up. pic.twitter.com/kRdsQZZIiU
(The hat, by the way, re-appeared on Hockey Night in Canada's After Hours after Lucic seemingly got lost and meandered through the hallway, wading aimlessly in the background a live interview with Erik Gudbranson.)
"I wouldn't want to mess with him," laughed Brett Ritchie. "He looked like one of those guys off Yellowstone. Rip, maybe."
Sublime.
What's more, Lucic walked the walk with one of his best efforts of the season. Surely, with the glittery getup fuelling his mood, that was hardly a coincidence.
Look good, feel good, play good.
The question is, what does the Big Man have for an encore, now, in the Country Music Capital? After all, the pressure is on now that Calgary's resident ranchman has taken note of the outfit.
"He's got to get a work cowboy hat," Head Coach Darryl Sutter explained, flashing that patented wry smile of his. "Not a parade hat."
Predators - Matt Duchene
You have to tip your cap.
In the past three years, the 5-foot-11, 195-lb. centre had 23 goals. Combined. It seemed like his career was on the rocks - the fit as a Nashville Predator, uncertain, to say the least.
As a one-time 30-goal scorer, he knew had the talent to get back to that level.
But this?
Mighty impressive.
The 31-year-old has re-discovered his offensive identity, leading the Predators with a career-high 41 tucks and becoming the first player in franchise history to top the 40-goal mark.
Sutter on the impact Lucic has had this year - and the role he can play in a deep playoff run:
"He's got an identity. Play the role, maximize his skill-set. That's what he's done. I think there was a time between Los Angeles and signing in Edmonton and his first year here, I think he'd be the first to tell you that had gotten away from him, but I think having that relationship with him and understanding where he is in his career, (he had) an opportunity to play on a good team again and be an important part of it."
