Duchene Gets 40th Goal, Granlund Helps Preds to Shootout Win Over Flames

Matt Duchene became the first 40-goal scorer in franchise history, and Mikael Granlund tallied the winner in the shootout as the Nashville Predators defeated the Calgary Flames by a 3-2 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds their 44th victory of the season and bumps them up to 93 points to keep the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Filip Forsberg also scored in regulation time, and goaltender Juuse Saros made 19 saves through 65 minutes - and three more in the shootout - to earn the win on his birthday and give the Predators a much-needed triumph to close out their five-game homestand.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the opening period of play, but just over seven minutes into the second stanza, Forsberg took a feed from Ryan Johansen on the power play and one-timed his 39th of the season into the twine to give the Preds a 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes after that, Forsberg and Granlund joined Duchene on a rush, and after his initial chance at the net was denied, a Calgary defender put Duchene's rebound into the net as No. 95 became Nashville's first 40-goal scorer in a single season.

Andrew Mangiapane got Calgary on the board before the middle frame was out with a power-play tally of his own, and he got another goal to tie the game in the third and force overtime.
The two clubs traded chances in the extra session, and Granlund was the only player to convert in the shootout to give the Preds a second point in their sixth-to-last contest of the regular season.

Tuesday Storyline:

Matt Duchene didn't even put his 40th goal of the season in the net.
After driving to the netmouth and being denied by Flames netminder Dan Vladar, Calgary defenders were following up the play in an attempt to clear the loose puck out of the crease. Instead, they shoved the biscuit over the line, Duchene drifting away from the cage celebrating his franchise first - and linemates Forsberg and Granlund knocking each other over trying to be the first one to grab the historic puck.
"They looked like kids at an Easter egg hunt," quipped Preds Head Coach John Hynes.
The celebration at the end of the night was even grander as Nashville prevailed in the shootout over a Calgary team they'll see once more next Tuesday in Tennessee - and potentially on many more occasions in the weeks ahead.
But for now, the Preds were just pleased to get back to their game - and as it has on 43 other occasions this season, their physical, mental and emotional toughness did the trick.
"I thought we played a really smart game," Duchene said. "Both teams were very respectful of each other, and I thought both teams were holding punches and waiting for the right time to strike. We both know that there's a decent chance we see each other in the first round. We want to hold our spot and end up seeing them, so they're a heck of a team. I thought we did a lot of really good things tonight. We want to keep building here for the last five and just a huge win to keep pushing forward."
"I really liked the commitment to defend," Hynes said of his club's effort. "I thought it was much more of the structure that we need to play with, and that makes us a stingy team to play against. I thought that we got taught some lessons in some loose play against St. Louis. But I think that the attention to detail tonight was at the level that you need to have to be a stingy team defensively, and I think we generate offense from really good defense when we're playing at our best. It was a hard-fought game by both teams, and this was more of the game that gives us the best chance to win night in and night out."
In Duchene's case, the milestone was special. Any player on the Nashville roster would easily confess the success of the team is more important than individual accolades, but in his 900th career game, Duchene had to admit the milestone felt rather fulfilling.
"To do it in my 900th game, it was kind of cool," Duchene said. "The reaction from the crowd when they announced it, I was still locked into the game. It's one of those things like where you enjoy it at the end of the year. But, the reaction from the crowd was unbelievable, and it made me a little emotional on the bench. I just wanted to give a wave and just kind of stay into the game and stay seated or whatever. But they made it hard not to feel that moment a little bit. So, I really appreciate that from the fans."

"You can't take anything for granted in this League," Granlund said of Duchene scoring 40 goals. "It's a tough League, and with how many Dutchy has scored, and obviously Fil is right up there too, but it's not easy to do in this League. The whole team, we're really proud of them and really happy for them."
The Preds also know they could end up facing Calgary in postseason play, and at the very least, the two will get together again next Tuesday in Nashville. If that meeting is anything like this first bout, it'll be a must-watch affair.
"It was almost like when you see the pre-fight weigh-in of the two fighters," Duchene said. "You get the jawing and lipping, the odd thing going there. It almost kind of had that feel to it. I thought both teams held punches back at times - not literally - but in terms of the way we played, because I think both teams respected each other's offense a lot. It was a chess match. It wasn't a checkers game out there. I felt it was a good introduction to them, and we're going to see them again in a week, and then potentially in the playoffs. There's potentially a lot of games left between us."
No matter what, the Predators aren't where they want to be quite yet, and they'll need all the points they can get in the remaining five games of the regular season. But, as the Preds have shown over the past six-plus months, they can beat anybody when they play to their capabilities.
They did that on Tuesday, and now they can count on one hand the number of outings they've got left to clinch the spot hardly anyone saw coming - and the journey continues Saturday night in Tampa.
"I think this is a stressful time for us," Duchene said. "There's obviously teams in front of us. We're likely not moving up a spot. We talked about it today, and it's tough being the hunted. We're at our best when we're hunters. We've just got to have that mindset regardless of where we are in the standings. We might not catch anyone in front of us, but we've got to have that mindset. We got to keep looking out in front of us and not in the rearview mirror. If we look at the rearview mirror, the inconsistencies come like they have a little bit lately. That's the mindset we want going for the last five games. I thought we had that tonight."
"[Tonight was about] establishing confidence in our game after what happened against St. Louis and making sure that we focus on playing a style of game that was going to give us the best chance to win, regardless of who we play," Hynes said. "And I think the next one is not about are we in or out, but we need to utilize the next three days the right way, and we've got to be ready to play on Saturday against Tampa. We just have to take it one day at a time and each game at a time. Those are the things that we can control, and we can't control anything else."

Highlight of the Night:

They Said It:

Matt Duchene on Nashville's final five regular-season games:
"It's not done yet. We have work to do, but the character and the family kind of vibe we have in that room is so awesome. If you have that you can do anything. We're a hard working team. We played the way the game is supposed to be played. We're an offensive team and an offensive threat, and we play very solid defensively. We've got a great goaltender, so we have the ability to do whatever we want to do. It's about being mature enough and strong enough mentally and doing the right things off the ice, on the ice and away from the rink to mentally get to where we need to be. It's going to be a work in progress, and we're going to continue to get better. You always have to keep pushing. I think we've done a good job with that so far this year, and this is a good test for us to finish the year. We finish that off, and then we'll see what happens in the playoffs."

Notes:

Nashville's lineup remained unchanged from Sunday to wrap up the five-game homestand. Defenseman Jeremy Lauzon is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and forward Michael McCarron (week-to-week) also remained out. Defensemen Ben Harpur and Jeremy Davies, as well as forward Matt Luff, were scratched.
With their homestand now complete, the Preds will enjoy a few days of rest before traveling to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning on Saturday night. That contest will begin the third and final back-to-back weekend set for Nashville, and they'll return home to host the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night from Bridgestone Arena.