A pair of struggling teams will face each other when the Nashville Predators play host to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
The Flames arrive in Music City with only one victory in their last seven games (1-4-2), while the Predators are winless in seven outings (0-4-3).
While the Flames were expected to be a non-playoff team entering the season, their fall over the past few weeks has cast a pall on the team. The Predators had huge expectations going into the campaign by adding a trio of proven impact veterans to a squad that reached the playoffs last year, but currently they are trying to hold off the Chicago Blackhawks for last place overall in the standings and sit one dozen points outside of a playoff position.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but personally, you just try to focus on the next game,” Nashville defenseman Luke Schenn said. “You obviously can’t change the past, and it seems like a crazy mountain to climb if you start looking at the big picture, so one day at a time, and just try to focus on what you can do to control the outcome and try to play as good as you can individually.”
The Predators return home after they finished a four-game road swing with a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. They have scored only 11 goals in their seven-game swoon and managed only one marker in their last two clashes, a meaningless late tally in Ottawa with less than two minutes remaining.
“It’s tough,” coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought the effort was there (in Ottawa). A couple mistakes there … and when you’re not scoring goals, they’re hard to recover from. … We’ll break free at some point.”
The Flames arrive after a 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday, a clash that was tied 2-2 early in the third period before they surrendered four unanswered goals in the final 15 minutes.
“We had stretches where I liked what we were doing, we had some good zone time,” coach Ryan Huska said. “But how we were away from the puck, with the odd-man rushes against … I mean that, to me, is the difference between winning and losing and that’s where we’re struggling a little bit on the road.”
The Flames were seventh overall in the league standings on Nov. 23, but now sit outside a playoff position. Calgary is winless in its last eight road games and has a 3-7-4 record away from the Stampede City.
“We’re not in a bad spot, so I think we can’t get frustrated,” forward Jonathan Huberdeau said. “We’ve got to stay positive and find a way to get a win. This is our last road game before Christmas, so I think that’s the one we need to focus on.”
While the Predators are trying to rectify a litany of aspects of their game, the biggest issue for the Flames is their lack of offense. Even with a power play that has been quite effective the past 10 games, the Flames have gone a franchise-record 25 games without scoring more than three goals. The last time Calgary scored four or more goals — not counting shootout wins — was the third game of the campaign on Oct. 13.
“We have to find a way to hit the (offensive blue line) with a little bit more speed, make sure we’re hungrier for the loose pucks,” Huska said. “And when you have the stretches of zone time that we had (Sunday), you have to find a way to capitalize and get a little bit more inside.”
–Field Level Media
