5 Things - Flames vs. Predators

1. Gathering Steam

Fresh off two points in Seattle, the Flames will try and make it two wins on the spin tonight when the Predators visit the Scotiabank Saddledome. Get tickets

And all of a sudden, the concept of building momentum is a real conversation in Calgary, as the Flames look to build off a performance in Seattle that saw them score a season-high six goals.

Mikael Backlund tallied twice in Calgary’s last contest - his first two goals as Flames captain - and ahead of another test against Nashville tonight, his focus is on keeping the pedal to the metal.

“I thought we played with good pace (Saturday), with and without the puck,” Backlund said Monday. “We played fast when we had it, we were fast in our D zone, coming out cleanly all the time, playing connected.

“That’s what we’ve got to do, stay connected, play as a unit of five, and play with that speed and pace.”

Head Coach Ryan Huska has talked at times this season about how he sees the generation of offence as an end product of good puck management.

But he also spoke at length Monday about the impact Calgary’s youngsters have had on the lineup, including the contributions of forwards Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil, who both scored on their NHL debuts last week.

“I don’t want to call it a shot across the bow at all, but when you see some new guys come into the room it’s like, ‘Hmmm, they will bring some guys up at times,'" Huska said. “So I think it kind of goes both ways.

“You feed off the excitement of a younger player, now they’re going to make some mistakes along the way, and the hope is it doesn’t cost us some games when we use them in those situations, but both those guys - and you can throw Nick (DeSimone) in there too - they did a good job for us.”

DeSimone, who earned his first NHL point with an assist Saturday in Seattle, skated again Monday on a pairing with Nikita Zadorov. The 28-year-old now has five career NHL games under his belt, all with the Flames.

Huska was also encouraged by forward Adam Ruzicka’s participation level at practice; the Calgary forward took a regular turn, including in powerplay drills, as he works toward a return from an injury suffered Oct. 24.

A win tonight would push the Flames over the .500 mark in November, but perhaps more importantly, would go a long way toward maintaining the momentum welling from the dressing room.

2. Know Your Enemy

Tonight marks game four of a five-game Western road trip for the Predators, with Nashville holding a 1-2-0 record on their travels thus far.

That win came in the form of a 5-2 triumph Saturday afternoon in Edmonton. Ryan O’Reilly led the charge with a hat-trick for Nashville, while Filip Forsberg, Tommy Novak and Alexandre Carrier also enjoyed multi-point outings.

Head coach Andrew Brunette got plenty of production from his top unit of O’Reilly, Forsberg and Gustav Nyquist; he figures the trio is rounding into form.

“They’re really good players, and they’re developing chemistry every day,” Brunette told reporters following Saturday’s win. “I thought today was a by-product of the work they’ve put in.

“They communicate, they work hard together, they’re always working on little things to make them better, and they got rewarded (Saturday).”

Forsberg and O’Reilly in particular, have been lights out, combining for 23 points in their first season as teammates.

According to the Swedish forward, O’Reilly is unlike any of his previous linemates over his 627 games in the Music City.

“He’s probably the smartest player I’ve played with in this league,” Forsberg said Saturday. “He just knows where to go, so good with his stick detail.

“He’s around the net, he finds loose pucks; it’s pretty simple for me, I just try to get it to him.”

Tonight marks the first of two November meetings between the Predators and Flames, with the two sides set to meet again Nov. 22 in Tennessee.

Just three points separate Calgary and Nashville in the Western Conference standings, too.

We won’t have to wait much longer to see how those standings will change, once 60 (or more) minutes are through.

3. Fast Facts

2022-23 Season Series:

Last year, the season series went Nashville’s way, with the Predators claiming two points in each of the three encounters. Nashville won 4-1 at Scotiabank Saddledome Nov. 3, then edged the Flames 2-1 in the Music City Jan. 16.

The final meeting of the season took place at the ‘Dome, with Tommy Novak scoring the shootout decider in a 3-2 Predators win.

Andrew Mangiapane finished the season series with three points (all assists) for Calgary, while Mikael Backlund chipped in with a goal and an assist.

Did You Know?

Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil are the first NHL players in 22 years to record their first NHL goals on their debuts, in back-to-back games for the same NHL club.

Before Pospisil’s goal in Seattle Saturday night, the most recent teammates to achieve the feat were Pierre Dagenais and Jiri Bicek of the New Jersey Devils, who scored on back-to-back NHL debuts Feb. 17 and 19, 2001.

4. Roster Notes

The Flames practiced with the following line combinations Monday morning:

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau - Elias Lindholm - Dillon Dube
Connor Zary - Nazem Kadri - Yegor Sharangovich
Martin Pospisil - Mikael Backlund - Blake Coleman
A.J. Greer - Adam Ruzicka - Walker Duehr

Dryden Hunt

Defence

MacKenzie Weegar - Rasmus Andersson
Noah Hanifin - Chris Tanev
Nikita Zadorov - Nick DeSimone

Dennis Gilbert

Goaltenders

Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Nazem Kadri

Kadri comes into tonight’s contest with a goal and three assists to show from his last three games, including helpers on both Connor Zary’s and Martin Pospisil’s first NHL goals last week.

The veteran forward has been dangerous offensively, with 10 shots on goal over the course of his three-game point streak.

According to Natural Stat Trick, Kadri leads the Flames both in individual scoring chances for (25) and individual high-danger chances for (11) this season.

Predators - Tommy Novak

The 26-year-old is off to a hot start for Nashville, with six goals and nine points from his 11 appearances this season.

Novak, who hails from St. Paul, Minn., scored 17 goals for the Predators a season ago; he’s got goals in back-to-back games after recording a tally and a helper in Saturday’s 5-2 win in Edmonton.

Four of Novak’s six goals this season have come on the powerplay, tying him for the team lead in man-advantage markers with Ryan O’Reilly.