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The Stats
| Nashville Predators | Calgary Flames | |||
| Record | 11-10-6 | 19th | 10-11-4 | 25th |
| GF/Game | 2.22 | 29th | 2.76 | 14th |
| GA/Game | 2.33 | 4th | 3.24 | 28th |
| 5-on-5 SF/60 | 23.3 | 30th | 28.6 | 13th |
| 5-on-5 SA/60 | 26.0 | 6th | 28.5 | 16th |
| Fenwick Close | 46.25 | 24th | 51.67 | 12th |
| 5-on-5 Save % | .931 | 4th | .886 | 29th |
| 5-on-4 GF/60 | 5.7 | 17th | 6.9 | 9th |
| # of PP's/Gm | 3.22 | 26th | 3.60 | 19th |
| 4-on-5 GA/60 | 8.0 | 28th | 7.4 | 23rd |
| # of PK's/Gm | 3.33 | 7th | 3.12 | 3rd |
These two teams aren't exactly the cream of the NHL's crop, but if the game stays mostly at 5-on-5 Nashville's goaltending could make the difference. Both teams take relatively few penalties and don't draw many from their opponents, so there's hope on that front.
The Preds return home to face Calgary in a rematch on Thursday - take the OTF Discount and save money on tickets!
Calgary Flames
When it comes to making the playoffs, it looks Feaster Famine once again in Calgary. SportsClubStats gives the Flames just a 14.2 percent chance of qualifying for the post-season right now, and they've recently scraped the bottom of the Western Conference standings (now held by Colorado). Dark times, indeed:
The Flames' loss to the Kings on Saturday night combined with the Blue Jacket's sudden resurgence and the Oilers' unlikely win over the Chicago Blackhawks today have put the Flames in last place in the Western Conference. The Flames and Oilers have an identical -16 goal differential, although Edmonton has played two more games than Calgary has. Tomorrow's game against the Kings marks the halfway point of the season for the Flames, and with the team being six points out of a playoff spot and the trade deadline quickly approaching, time is running out for Hartley and Co. to right the ship.
But the question of whether or not it would be best just to let the said ship sink remains unanswered by anyone in the organization.
As that ship sinks, should the captain make a getaway? All eyes are on Jarome Iginla, to see if Calgary decides to cash in their chips and send him somewhere to compete for a Stanley Cup in exchange for picks & prospects, since it doesn't look like the Flames are going to be a contender any time soon:
Nashville Predators
What sort of team will we see tonight? The one that shut out Dallas on Tuesday, or the one which gave up seven goals to Vancouver last night?
What we do know is that Pekka Rinne will be back in goal, and he'll look to bounce back with a dominating performance.
Up front, the hot hand of late might actually belong to a guy who's caught a lot of flak this season:
Leggy has been flat-out awful this season, but he is riding a four-game point scoring streak into tonight's contest. Yes, it includes that fluke half-ice goal against Edmonton last Friday, but on an offenisvely-challenged team like the Predators, beggars can't be choosers.
So what do you think? Can Legwand ride to the rescue tonight? The puck drops at 8:00 p.m. Central, so make sure to come back for the Game Thread...