The waning minutes of regulation got a little dicey, but Nashville Predators found a way.

Ryan Ellis scored twice and the visitors defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3, on Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The victory gives the Preds 21 wins and 49 points on the season, pushing them into the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and two points behind St. Louis for the third spot in the Central Division.

Calgary added all three of their goals in the final 3:43 of regulation, but Nashville hung on to record two big points.

“No matter how you look at it, it’s a win,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. The guys played hard and we did a great job for 55 minutes and did a great job in the last 45 seconds just battling to get it done.”

“The bottom line is we needed those two points,” forward Harry Zolnierczyk said. “That puts us in a playoff spot right now with a few games in hand. We want to get back on a roll here and put a few wins together.”

Peter Laviolette has often spoken on green lighting his defensemen to jump into the play when they see an offensive opportunity. Ryan Ellis scoring – on what was essentially a breakaway – in the second period was Exhibit A.

After breaking out of their own end, Zolnierczyk carried the puck up the right side and found a streaking Ellis over the blue line, who then beat Calgary goaltender Chad Johnson glove side for his sixth of the season and a 2-0 Preds lead.

“The D was down the wall, so I knew it was either no one back or a forward back,” Ellis said of the play. “I jumped in the rush, Harry made a great play right between two guys, and I just shot the puck.”

A single goal wasn’t enough, however, because before the middle frame was out, Ellis converted again, this time via a slap shot on the power play, for a 3-0 advantage and his first career multi-goal performance.

“It feels good, the way the last game against Vancouver went, we thought we deserved a little better in that one,” Ellis said. “Tonight we worked for about 57 minutes and still got rewarded for it, so it’s a good sign for our team.”

In addition to the goal-scoring prowess of Ellis, Nashville got contributions from two of its big guns on Thursday. James Neal scored his team-leading 15th of the season – his first in eight games – and Filip Forsberg notched his 12th of the campaign as well as the ninth in his last 15 contests.

“It felt good to get going,” Neal said. “It’s been a couple games here, so I felt my timing was better tonight, and it was nice to get one and a big two points for our team.”

Forsberg’s goal pushed Nashville ahead 4-0, but after the Flames’ late rally, stood as the game-winning goal. The third consecutive game-winner for the 22-year-old winger.

“You love when your goal-scorers are scoring goals,” Zolnierczyk said. “That gives them confidence. It gives everybody else confidence. We just want to keep rolling here.”

Another start, another stellar performance from Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.

With the exception of a few bad bounces down the final stretch, the rookie netminder turned aside 32 Calgary shots, including 14 in the first period, to give his team an advantage all night.

For Saros, the confidence continues to grow each time he gets the call between the pipes, and it simply washes over the entire Nashville roster from there.

“He was great tonight,” Zolnierczyk said. “We felt bad when we gave up that first one, a little unlucky off our stick… but he was lights out all game. At the end of the day, he did his job and we got the two points.”

Laviolette summed up his goaltender’s performance simply: “He was outstanding.”

Notes:

Mike Fisher recorded his 300th NHL assist on James Neal’s goal in the first period.

Craig Smith was back in the Nashville lineup in Calgary after he was scratched on Tuesday. Forward Colton Sissons and defenseman Brad Hunt were scratched for the Predators on Thursday.

The Predators made a minor trade during Thursday night’s game, acquiring defenseman Andrew O’Brien from Anaheim in exchange for forward Max Gortz.

Nashville plays game four of their five-game trip Friday night in Edmonton as they face the Oilers for the first time in the brand-new Rogers Place.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network immediately following Coffee County basketball.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

Motlow State Community College baseball Head Coach Dan McShea will begin his 11th season at the helm of the program when his team travels to Hanceville, Ala., on Feb. 3 to play a doubleheader with Wallace State. The first home game is Feb. 10, when Marshalltown (IA) visits the Driver Baseball Complex for a noon doubleheader. Photo by Jeff Reed Photography.

The Motlow State Community College baseball program will open its 44th season of competition on Friday, Feb. 3, when it travels to Hanceville, Ala., for a doubleheader against Wallace State Community College. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Dan McShea
Motlow State Community College baseball Head Coach Dan McShea will begin his 11th season at the helm of the program when his team travels to Hanceville, Ala., on Feb. 3 to play a doubleheader with Wallace State. The first home game is Feb. 10, when Marshalltown (IA) visits the Driver Baseball Complex for a noon doubleheader. Photo by Jeff Reed Photography.
Head Coach Dan McShea enters his 11th year at the helm of the program, having compiled an overall record of 229-280-1 in his 10 seasons, including a 20-37 mark in 2016. McShea will be assisted full time once again this season by Cody Gaskill and by volunteer assistant Hayden Pewitt.

After visiting Wallace State, the Bucks will continue to Birmingham where they will play a doubleheader with Lawson State on Feb. 4. The home opener is Friday, Feb. 10, with a doubleheader scheduled against Marshalltown (IA) Community College at noon at the Driver Baseball Complex. The two teams will play another twin bill the following day.

Tennessee Community College Athletic Association play begins Mar. 3, at home, when a three-game series with Chattanooga State begins with a 1 p.m. single nine-inning contest. A pair of seven-inning games will be played the following day. All TCCAA series are scheduled for three games using the single nine inning game on the first day and a pair of seven inning contests the second day format.

The longest road trip for the Bucks will be Feb. 17-18 when they travel to Niceville, Fla., to play four games in two days. The opposition will be Northwest Florida State College, the host school, and Andrew College.

There are two long home stands scheduled. The first and longest is Feb. 24-Mar. 7, with nine games on the docket including the first conference series with Chattanooga State. The Bucks will also be at home for seven games in seven days from Apr. 7-14, including TCCAA series with both Jackson State and Volunteer State.

The season ends with Motlow’s two longest conference road trips; Walters State in Morristown and Southwest Tennessee in Memphis, on back-to-back weekends beginning Apr. 21. The TCCAA/Region VII Tournament is scheduled for May 7-10 at Volunteer State in Gallatin, and the national tournament begins May 27 in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Although Motlow began its baseball program during the first spring the school was open in 1970, there was no baseball played between the years 1983-1986. The program restarted in 1987 and has been vibrant since.

Motlow has 55 games scheduled for the 2017 season, three less than the maximum of 58. There are 27 home games scheduled, including 11 doubleheaders and five single games. Admission is free to all Motlow athletic events and the concession stand is always open.