Mikael Granlund scored with one-tenth of a second remaining in regulation and then netted the winner 1:20 into overtime as the Nashville Predators defeated the visiting Calgary Flames 4-3 Thursday night.
Colton Sissons and Roman Josi also scored for the Predators, who improved to 6-1-1 in their past eight games. Goaltender Juuse Saros made 36 saves.
Mikael Backlund had a goal and two assists, and Rasmus Andersson and Andrew Mangiapane also scored for the Flames, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. David Rittich stopped 34 of 38 shots.
Mangiapane gave the Flames a 3-2 lead with 43 seconds left in the third period. Backlund charged down the center of the ice and past one defender, then drew two more to him, before dropping a pass to a wide open Mangiapane in the slot.
But in the final seconds of regulation, Nashville's Filip Forsberg got the puck behind the Calgary net and found Granlund at the top of the crease, from where he shoveled the puck under Rittich's right pad just before the buzzer.
In overtime, Granlund took a pass from Ryan Ellis between the bottom of the faceoff circles and floated a shot over Rittich's blocker.
The Predators opened the scoring with 32 seconds remaining in the first period, as Sissons scored from the top of the crease off of a pass from behind the net by Colin Blackwell.
Andersson scored 26 seconds into the second period to tie it at 1-1, tapping the puck from the right post after a cross-crease pass from Backlund.
Backlund gave the Flames the lead at 3:48, as his slap shot from the left point went off the skate of Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm and made its way just inside the right post.
Josi scored his 15th goal of the season, tying his career high, at 14:30 of the third to tie the score at 2-2, squeezing a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle between Rittich's right arm and body. It was the defenseman's first goal since Dec. 23.
Mark Giordano, the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defenseman, returned to the Flames' lineup after missing 10 games with a hamstring injury.
--Field Level Media
Calgary | Nashville | |
Mikael Backlund 3 | Points | Ryan Ellis 3 |
Mikael Backlund 1 | Goals | Mikael Granlund 2 |
Mikael Backlund 2 | Assists | Ryan Ellis 3 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
David Rittich .895 | Save Percentage | Juuse Saros .923 |
David Rittich 34 | Saves | Juuse Saros 36 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Calgary | 39 | 3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 6 | 24 |
Nashville | 38 | 4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 26 |