5 Things - Flames @ Predators

1. Last Time Out

Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrew Mangiapane staked the Flames to a 2-0 first-period lead in Minny but the W didn't come easy.

They had to work hard for it in the final 20 minutes. 

Jacob Markstrom was stellar yet again since returning from injury, making 17 saves in the third period when Minny pushed back hard, and Blake Coleman scored an empty-netter to seal the deal as the Flames won their second game in a row by a 3-1 final. 

“Thought we had a good start," said Huberdeau. "Especially in this building, it's not easy. After that, they pushed back. We knew that was going to happen, but Marky stood up, guys were blocking shots. That's the kind of team we are. Resiliency. We came up with a huge win.”

“It was a win. We'll put it that way," said head coach Ryan Huska after the game. "For the first two periods, I thought we did some good things. Third period, we were on our heels for a lot of it.

"Thankfully we had a goaltender that was on his game tonight because I think he allowed us to get the two points.”

Click here for the full game recap and highlights

2. Know Your Enemy

Like the Flames, the Preds have also won two straight and have points in their last three outings.

They blanked the Blackhawks 3-0 to open the New Year on Jan. 2 thanks to a 21-save performance by Juuse Saros.

Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly and Luke Evangelista (with an empty-netter) scored for Nashville, who sit at 21-16-1 this season, and 6-3-1 in their last 10 outings.

“It's always nice to get a win,” Predators Captain Roman Josi told NashvillePredators.com. “We’re really happy with the win. These games aren’t easy, and (Chicago) had a tough game before, so we knew they were going to come out hard and play hard. So it was a good one to come away with.”

Nyquist has had the hot hand of late for Nashville, riding a six-game point streak (five goals, four assists).

"He's playing great," Josi told media of his teammate's recent play. "I feel like he’s been playing great the whole year. He’s so good on the powerplay. He’s great. He’s very patient with the puck. He makes some really good plays. He’s an awesome leader in our locker-room. He’s been nothing but great since he came here."

Tyson Barrie did not play in the tilt due to injury and is listed as day-to-day.

3. Fast Facts

On The Block:

Chris Tanev earned Second Star honours on Tuesday in Minnesota after blocking a game-high five shots and skating in the third-most ice time for the Flames at 23:12. As a team, the Flames have blocked the third-most shots in the NHL so far this season at 288 (as of Jan. 3), led by Tanev who has gotten in front of 96 pucks in 34 games thus far. Fellow defenceman MacKenzie Weegar trails Tanev by just one block with 95, and as of Jan. 3, the two rank sixth and seventh in the league in shot blocks. Rasmus Andersson is third on the team with 92 blocks, making the Flames the only team to have three different skaters with 90-plus blocks this season.

Ruzicka Closing On Milestone:

Adam Ruzicka has played 106 games in his NHL career and has a chance to tie Ronald Petrovicky (107 GP) for the most games played by a Slovakian-born skater in franchise history. Ruzicka is the Flames highest all-time scoring Slovakian skater with 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in his 106 contests with Calgary. Ruzicka was the 47th Slovakian-born skater to reach 100 games in NHL history when he achieved the milestone back on Dec. 14 and is one of four active Slovaks with 100-plus NHL games under their belt, along with Tomas Tatar (817 GP), Erik Cernak (333 GP) and Martin Fehervary (181 GP).

4. Marky In Music City

Talkin' Johnny Cash, Elvis, country music, his mask & more ...

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Jacob Markstrom

He's sporting an incredible .936 save percentage since returning from injury and is playing some inspired hockey.

“He's been excellent," said Huska of his netminder after the Wild win. "We often talk with Marky when he's rested. He hates it, because he wants to play 82. But when he's rested, he's a really good goaltender - one of the best in the league, for sure, and we rely on him in a lot of situations. There's not too many games this year where you could be like, 'Ooh, Marky wasn't there.' He was our best player by far tonight, and we're going to continue to need him to be.”

Predators - Filip Forsberg

The veteran always seems to step up his game against the Flames. He leads Nashville in scoring with 18 goals and 42 points, including two goals and four points in his last three games.