5 Things - Flames @ Predators

1. Last Time Out

The celebration said it all.

The Gladiator-style, ‘Are You Not Entertained?!’ pose struck by the Flames’ minute-munching blueliner was the cherry on top of a thrilling night under the Space Needle.

Andrew Mangiapane spurred a late rally with his 100th career goal to force overtime, while his longtime pal Rasmus Andersson capped off a three-point night with the winning strike in the extra frame, as the Flames took down the Seattle Kraken 4-3 at Climate Pledge Arena.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough charm for one night…

Mikael Backlund – the man who's third on the franchise list in games played, and will soon become a Silver Stick recipient – tallied his 500th career point with an assist on the winner.

All in all, a pretty good way to start the road trip.

"It feels good that it was a pass on a winning goal,” the captain said of the landmark apple. “It’s a big milestone. ... When I came into the league, my first few years... (I) never thought or expected myself to get 500 points. I worked hard to get here, and I'm proud and excited about it.”

The 34-year-old was equally thrilled to see Mangiapane hit triple-digits in goals. And to do it at such a critical point in the contest, with 4:07 to play in the third period, only added to the occasion.

“Great timing,” Backlund said. “It was a huge goal for us. I’m very happy for him.”

The Flames were far and away the better team in the third - and they needed to be after what Head Coach Ryan Huska described as an “awful” second that forced them to play catch-up. The Kraken tallied a pair of goals less than two minutes apart late in the middle stanza, as part of a 17-6 run on the shot clock, and carried a 3-2 lead into the final frame.

“We had a good talk in between periods,” Backlund said. “We knew we weren't good enough in the second and we knew we had to be better.

"We came out and pushed right away and never took the foot off the gas in the third.”

Elias Lindholm and Jonathan Huberdeau rounded out the offence, while Dan Vladar made 28 saves to improve to 3-1-1 on the year.

The Flames are now on a 5-1-2 run dating back to Nov. 4.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Flames weren’t the only ones gnawing at a third-period deficit the other night.

Filip Forsberg and Yakov Trenin scored 16 seconds apart in the final minute of the third period, as the Predators rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 at Bridgestone Arena.

It was the first time in franchise history the Predators have scored a game-tying and game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation.

Forsberg’s tally at 19:22 was his second of the evening, batting a puck out of mid-air at the left post, before Trenin buried a rebound with 22 ticks left on the clock to seal a Nashville victory.

“This was a big one for us," Forsberg told Emma Lingan of NashvillePredators.com. “We played well all game against a really good team on the other side. At the start of the third period, I thought we deserved to tie the game for sure, and then, obviously. it could not have happened in a better way than with that goal to win it. But I thought it was a really solid game.”

“Nobody quit for a second in our group, and we got rewarded for that,” added Trenin. “I think we battled hard, we played (well). We gave up one goal on the PK, but we played all the way through 60 minutes and we got rewarded for that.”

Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the Preds, who’ve won two straight after losing their previous four.

“We've had a few of those going the other way on us," Head Coach Andrew Brunette told reporters. "It was nice. Maybe the Hockey Gods kind of rewarded us.

"I'm proud of the group. ... What I really liked was that we didn't change the way we played. We had a little bit of a belief that we were going to get some looks, and we stuck to the game plan. We showed a lot of resilience there down the stretch, because we coulda, woulda, shoulda (and) missed a few chances. And sometimes when that happens, you kind of shrug your shoulders a little bit.

“But I thought we just kept going after them and staying on the puck. It was a lot of fun to see the group show some joy."

The Predators were without defencemen Luke Schenn and Ryan McDonagh, who are both out with lower-body injuries. Schenn has missed the last 16 games, while McDonaugh has missed the past seven. However, both participated in Monday’s morning skate, so a return for one or both could be near.

The team announced on Tuesday that forward Cody Glass has been placed on IR and is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

3. News & Notes:

500…And Counting:

Backlund is the 11th player in franchise history to reach the 500-point plateau, joining Jarome Iginla, Theo Fleury, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk, Johnny Gaudreau, Gary Suter, Kent Nilsson, Guy Chouinard, Mark Giordano and Gary Roberts.

Legends, all.

300… And Counting:

Dillon Dube is set to play in his 300th career game tonight.

The 25-year-old made his NHL debut on Oct. 3, 2018 against the Vancouver Canucks, and tallied his first big-league goal on Nov. 21 that autumn against the Winnipeg Jets. Last season, Dube set a career high with 45 points (18G, 27A) while skating in all 82 regular-season games. The Golden, B.C. native was the Flames second-round pick (56th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft.

O From the D:

With Monday's three-point effort, Rasmus Andersson tied Noah Hanifin for the most three-plus point games among defencemen in franchise history at five – a list topped by the legendary Al MacInnis, who had 65-such performances through his 803 games in a Flames uniform.

Stick tap to Flames PR Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes

4. Quotable

Head Coach Ryan Huska on Monday’s third-period response:

“I think they just dug in a little bit. You often know when (the players) aren't happy in between periods. As a coach, you walk by sometimes and can hear some of the guys talking and that's a positive thing for us that we had certain guys saying the right things. It was nice to see the response, for sure.”

On the Backlund, Huberdeau, Coleman trio setting the tone in the first period:

“We put a lot of importance good starts, first periods and trying to win your first periods. We've talked a lot about Mikael and Blake the last little while and they were ready to play. And usually when your key guys are, your team usually follows suit. 

“We slipped a little in the second period but found a way to get it back.”

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Jonathan Huberdeau

Boy, the points are coming in bunches now. 

Huberdeau was an absolute beast against the Kraken, recording a goal and an assist to extend to a three-game point streak (2G, 3A). Take a look back at some of his notable touches from Monday's victory:

Predators - Gustav Nyquist

With a pair of assists against the Avalanche, Nyquist is now on a team-leading five-game point streak (1G, 6A). 

“This is the first time in the season that we’ve won two in a row, and we’ve got to do that a lot more often,” Nyquist told reporters after the game. “So, we can't get too much ahead of ourselves here. We’ve got another big test against Calgary, who we owe one to from the last game, so we’ve got to be ready to go against them right away on Wednesday.”