Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
Calgary Flames (21-14-9) vs. Nashville Predators (19-17-6)
The 2022-23 NHL season goes on with an 11-game Monday card and brings this Western Conference clash from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee when the Calgary Flames take on the Nashville Predators at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Calgary enters the contest as the favorite on the moneyline (-145) with the total set at 6.0. Nashville won the last time these teams met, earning a 4-1 victory in Calgary on November 3. They were the prohibitive underdogs in that contest (+219).
The Calgary Flames took a 6-2 lead into the third period in Dallas, then held off a feverish Stars rally to win 6-5. The victory gave Calgary points in five straight games (3-0-2). This is the final contest of a five-game road trip and the Flames are 9-7-7 on the road this season.
“Those games are hard, especially for a goalie,” goalie Dan Vladar said. “I saw some shots early, and then as the game went on, we took over big time. It was a 6-1 game, and my job was to not let them get back in it, and they did. I've just got to make that save to not let them get any momentum. Not the best game for me, but two points, huge.”
Goals, goals, goals.#Flames | @scotiabank pic.twitter.com/TQFUHS2Js1
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 14, 2023
Calgary had six players score goals in the victory, including Nazem Kadri, who had a goal and an assist in the victory and now has six points over his last five games. Vladar allowed five goals in the loss and the Flames have allowed 14 total goals through the first four games of this road trip. That includes allowing at least four goals in three of those games.
While Calgary has not dominated defensively, 14th at 2.96 goals allowed per game, the road stretch has been a bit of a surprise. Calgary needs solid goaltending, however, as they are 18th in goals per game (3.14) and 23rd on the power-play (20.0%). This is not the same offensive powerhou se we saw last season.