Predators defeat Flames in shootout, stay alive in West wild card race

CALGARY -- The Nashville Predators kept their Stanley Cup Playoffs hopes alive with a 3-2 shootout win against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday.

Calgary was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, combined with a 6-2 win by the Winnipeg Jets against the San Jose Sharks earlier Monday.
Tommy Novak scored the shootout winner when he weaved through the slot before lifting a shot over Jacob Markstrom's right pad, after Juuse Saros made a right-pad save on Mikael Backlund in the fourth round.
"Just really excited," Novak said. "Really excited to keep it going. We kind of had our backs against the wall for a while now and we've kept finding ways. We're just really happy to go play more meaningful games these next two games."
Egor Afanasyev and Zach Sanford scored for the Predators (41-31-8), who have won three of their past four and remain three points behind the Jets for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with two games remaining. Saros made 42 saves.
"All the guys are excited," Afanasyev said. "I feel like we don't really have a lot of pressure. Guys are just trying to have fun, but at the same time we're all working as a unit and that's why stuff has been working for us. We've just got to keep going the same way."

Backlund and Troy Stecher scored, and Markstrom made 27 saves for the Flames (37-27-17), who trail Winnipeg by two points with one game remaining but can't win the tiebreaker because of fewer regulation wins (35-30).
"It's still so fresh," Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. "I think coming home tonight and waking up tomorrow you're going to realize what an opportunity we missed. Now we can hardly believe it. It's painful. I think coming home tonight and waking up tomorrow, that's when you're going to realize we're out and it [stinks]."
The Flames are 18-13-17 in one-goal games this season.
"This year, looking around this room, we have the squad to do it and that probably makes it more frustrating, just we didn't do it," Andersson said. "Being in so many games and not coming out on the winning side of those, that's probably the one thing that's the most frustrating, for sure."
Sanford gave Nashville a 2-1 lead at 4:02 of the third period when he banged in a loose puck behind Markstrom's pad after Cody Glass' backhand caromed off a referee behind the net and back into the crease.
Backlund forced overtime when he tied it 2-2 at 8:03, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Andrew Mangiapane under Saros' right arm.
"I think there's always pressure, but our group's doing a really good job about not thinking about it and living in the moment," Sanford said. "It's so cliche ... you hear teams and players say that all the time, but it works. It's proven to work and it's working for us right now."

Afanasyev scored his first NHL goal 5:49 into the first period to put the Predators up 1-0. He shot into an empty net on a centering pass from Mark Jankowski after Markstrom turned the puck over behind the net.
Stecher tied it 1-1 at 7:41 of the second period with a wrist shot through traffic that beat Saros blocker side.
"It's an empty feeling," Backlund said. "Pushed for a long time. It's a long season. We fought all the way to the end. It's just an empty, hard feeling. Just feels hard right now. Don't have many thoughts right now. It's really upsetting, sad, tough. [Stinks]."
NOTES: Nashville is 23-7-8 in one-goal games this season. ... Saros has a 1.85 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in his past seven starts ... Jake Livingstone, who signed a one-year, entry level contract with the Predators on March 29, got his first NHL point with an assist on Sanford's goal. ... Nashville rookie forward Juuso Parssinen had one shot in 12:59 of action in his return after missing 23 games because of an upper-body injury.