Predators at Flames
As the Calgary Flames sink lower in the standings, the Jarome Iginla trade whispers only grow louder. The Flames and their captain will try to run their home winning streak to six games when they host the Nashville Predators on Friday. Calgary has been strong at home but is 2-8-3 on the road, preventing the team from crawling out of the bottom tier in the Western Conference. The Predators are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games.
Nashville had been a boom-or-bust team offensively until Thursday, when it suffered a 7-4 loss at Vancouver. The Predators had scored at least four goals in each of their last four wins while failing to notch more than one in any of their previous six losses. Nashville, which is the lowest-scoring team in the NHL, is one of several clubs that could use Iginla. The veteran right wing has one point in the last four games but is a free agent after the season and could help a contending team down the stretch.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), Rogers Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (11-10-6): Pekka Rinne picked up his fifth shutout at Dallas to kick off the road trip but yielded four goals on 12 shots on Thursday before being pulled. Rinne had allowed a total of one tally in regulation over his previous three games and had a streak of 186 minutes, 21 seconds without surrendering an even-strength goal end in the first period against the Canucks. The upside to that setback was the offensive output, which gave the Predators at least four goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 18 and 19. Nashville will play the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Flames twice each over the next six games, giving itself a chance to gain some momentum against teams near the bottom of the conference.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (10-11-4): The 35-year-old Iginla has played his entire career with Calgary but has been the subject of trade rumors over the last few years as the team has struggled. Iginla started off slow this season before erupting for six goals in a five-game span from Feb. 24-March 6. He has not found the net in any of the last four contests. The Flames did not need a point from their captain to end a three-game slide on Wednesday, when they came off the road and took down the Detroit Red Wings 5-2. Calgary has totaled 21 goals during its five-game home winning streak and has been nearly as strong on the other end by holding four of those five opponents under three tallies.
OVERTIME
1. Iginla has recorded 54 points (29 goals) in 48 career games against Nashville.
2. Flames LW Curtis Glencross (upper body) returned from a two-game absence on Wednesday and recorded a goal and an assist. He has four points (two goals) in his last four games.
3. Nashville C Nick Spaling, who was a healthy scratch as recently as last Friday, has tallied in back-to-back games.