The Nashville Predators were unable to find the back of the net on Friday night as they fell to the Calgary Flames by a 2-0 final at Scotiabank Saddledome. Preds goaltender Juuse Saros made 31 saves in the loss as the result sees Nashville’s three-game point streak come to an end.
“Obviously a tough loss,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I feel like we're hoping to win right now. We're not really going out there and attacking the game, like getting a win. We’re just kind of hoping and we’ll see what happens. And then you go into the third [period] and they score one, and that’s it.”
“I thought it was a tight hockey game,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Ice was at a premium. I thought they defended real well and we failed to really create a whole lot besides when we got desperate at different times late in the game.”
Neither team was able to find the back of the net through the game’s first two periods, and at no point was that defensive display showcased more than late in the second stanza as Nashville’s top-ranked penalty kill fended off 1:57 of a 5-on-3 advantage for Calgary.
“That was huge,” Brunette said of the kill. “Our penalty killing has kind of kept us afloat here all year and did a great job. [They gave] us an opportunity to try to score a goal, and we weren't able to get one.”
At the 6:38 mark of the final frame, Flames defenseman Daniil Miromanov beat Saros with a wrister from the right side, and Calgary added one more into an empty net before the night was out.
With their back-to-back set in Alberta complete, the Preds will now head to Vancouver to face the Canucks on Sunday night.
“The position [we’re in], we need to get some points, we need to get some wins, and we’ve got to attack the game and get out there and play to win,” Josi said. “And I feel like we're not doing that right now.”
Notes:
Nashville’s lineup remained the same on Friday as it did for Thursday’s overtime loss in Edmonton, except for Saros starting in net. Forwards Mark Jankowski and Tommy Novak (upper body, day-to-day), as well as defenseman Adam Wilsby, were scratched.
Friday’s game marked the 1,100th career contest for Preds forward Steven Stamkos - and the 100th game as a general manager for Preds GM Barry Trotz.
The Predators will now head to Vancouver to face the Canucks on Sunday night before their five-game trip concludes next Wednesday in Seattle.
