Flames 1 Predators 0
NASHVILLE — The Calgary Flames are starting to feel at home when they play in Nashville.
Rene Bourque scored at 2:10 of overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
After winning their first three games of the season, the Predators have lost back-to-back games, both in overtime. Calgary has won two straight.
The victory was Calgary’s fifth straight in Nashville. The Flames have not lost in Music City since Jan. 18, 2008. Dating back to the start of last season, the road team has won the past five matchups.
Parked in the low slot, Bourque corralled the rebound of a tough angle shot by Brendan Morrison and beat Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne on the stick side.
“It was kind of a broken play,” Bourque said. “I think (Morrison) just tried to get it on net. It bounced in the air, hit my shoulder, went down to the ice, and I don’t think the goalie knew where it was. It got to my stick, and that is when I shot it in the net.”
After missing Calgary’s past two games with a concussion, Bourque got his first goal of the season.
“As the game went along, he got better and better,” Calgary coach Brent Sutter said. “I thought in the last 12 minutes of the third period he really started playing that big-man’s game where he had the puck a lot on his stick in the offensive zone, and obviously got a big goal for us in overtime.”
Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 34 shots for his first shutout of the season and 35th of his career.
“In this building, they go hard from the start,” Kiprusoff said. “They shoot a lot, and we knew that and we were ready for that.”
Rinne saw his first action since being injured early in the third period of the Predators’ season opener on Oct. 9th. He stopped 34 of 35 shots.
“I’ve been practising pretty well the last few days, and I only missed three games, so it was not a huge break,” Rinne said. “I was a little more nervous than usual, but it was still a good game for me.”
While Rinne’s return was positive for Nashville, the team lost defenceman Ryan Suter a little more than two minutes into the game with what the team called a lower-body injury.
The U.S. Olympian collided with Calgary defenceman Cory Sarich in front of the Nashville bench at 2:01 of the first. Suter left the ice immediately and did not return.
Following the game, his coach said that early indications are the injury is not serious.
“It is just a lower-body injury right now,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. “He might miss a little bit of time, but nothing major.”
Entering Tuesday, Suter’s 25:21 of average ice time trails only teammate Shea Weber’s 25:37 for the team high. Suter has played in 208 consecutive games.
Notes: Nashville RW Martin Erat returned to the lineup after missing three games with back spasms. ... The Predators were 0-5 on the power play while the Flames went 0-2. ... Rinne is 0-3 in his career against Calgary.