Predators 5, Flames 3
Sergei Kostitsyn recorded his first career hat trick and Pekka Rinne secured his ninth win in 10 decisions as the Nashville Predators skated to a 5-3 road triumph over the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Matt Halischuk and defenseman Kevin Klein also tallied and Jordin Tootoo and Patric Hornqvist notched a pair of assists apiece for Nashville, which won its third straight overall and defeated Calgary for the third time in four meetings this season.
Flames captain Jarome Iginla scored his 499th career goal and Olli Jokinen notched an assist while playing in his 1,000th NHL game.
Rene Bourque and Brendan Morrison also tallied in the third period, but Calgary could not net the equalizer against Rinne (17 saves) and suffered its third straight loss on its current season-high seven-game road trip.
After Klein leveled the contest with a blast from the point, Kostitsyn gave Nashville a 2-1 edge just 2:27 later in the first period. The Predators cycled the puck down low before Mike Fisher found Kostitsyn at the side of the net for an easy tap in.
Halischuk doubled the advantage 2:27 into the second after accepting a no-look pass from Tootoo. Kostitsyn netted his second of the night just over 3 1/2 minutes later to stake Nashville to a 4-1 lead.
Kostitsyn capped the hat trick by scoring an empty-net goal with 30 seconds remaining.