It will be a battle to avoid the league basement when the Nashville Predators play host to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
The Predators (20 points) sit last in the 32-team NHL, two points back of the Flames. Calgary has played two more games heading into the clash of the cellar-dwellers, who are both looking to rebound from losses.
The Flames arrive after a 1-0 overtime defeat at the hands of the host Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, while Nashville is coming off a dispiriting 5-2 home setback to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
The Predators trailed 3-0 past the midway point before making it a one-goal game. but watched their Central Division rivals pull away and saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
“It’s frustrating,” said forward Nick Blankenburg. “We’re just trying to build that consistent game. We’re trying to find that for 60 minutes, and I think you’d be blind if you don’t see that. There’s glimpses and there’s parts where it’s really good. We’ve just got to find a way to do it … consistently.”
The Predators will likely be without forward Michael McCarron, who was injured in a fight in Saturday’s clash, but it appears forward Jonathan Marchessault will return after missing the past two games due to a lower-body injury.
Adding to all of Nashville’s frustrations is how the team was strong in consecutive road wins over the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, but failed to carry any momentum home.
“We’ve got to play the way that we played in those two (previous games),” said forward Luke Evangelist, who has posted three consecutive multi-point games. “We were desperate.”
The Flames arrive disappointed in their defeat against the Hurricanes, but buoyed by the fact they have crawled out from their opening-month struggles and are executing more along the lines of expectations.
Calgary kept a potent Carolina team in check beyond regulation time.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I did like a lot of the way we played,” said coach Ryan Huska. “We had some really good opportunities, but we didn’t capitalize on them.”
For all of Calgary’s struggles, the team’s defensive game has become more sound as the season has progressed. Although their offensive numbers are at the bottom of the pack, the Flames are in the middle of the league in goals-against-per-game.
That is how Calgary has posted a 2-1-1 record on its five-game road trip and won four of its last six outings.
“We’re playing hard. I think we’re a team that can play effectively on the road, play hard road games and battle in low-scoring games,” said forward Matt Coronato. “We’re proud to play with that effort. We have one more game on this trip. If we could come out with a win, that would be a great finish.”
After this clash, which ends a stretch in which the Flames have played seven of eight games on the road and skated in all four NHL time zones, they are scheduled to play four consecutive at home. Thus the desire to end the road swing on a high note.
“It’s definitely a big game,” Coronato said. “We want to get back home feeling good about things, for sure.”
–Field Level Media
