Miromanov and Coleman score, Wolf earns a shutout while Flames blanks Predators 2-0

Daniil Miromanov’s first goal of the season was the game-winner and rookie Dustin Wolf had 29 saves for his first career shutout as the Calgary Flames defeated the Nashville Predators 2-0 on Friday night.

Blake Coleman also scored with an empty-netter for Calgary (9-6-3). The Flames have earned points in five of their last six (3-1-2) games after a tough stretch in which they lost five of six.

Nashville (5-10-3), shut out for the third time of the season, continues to struggle. The Predators have just one win in their last seven (1-4-2) games.

Wolf improved to 6-2-1 overall and has an impressive 5-1-0 mark on home ice.

Juuse Saros, who faced 32 shots, dropped to 4-8-2.

Both netminders made clutch stops on short-handed breakaways, with Wolf putting aside Cole Smith in the first period. Saros kept it to one goal in the third when he cut a path to deny Coleman after being set up by Yegor Sharangovich during a 2-on-0 break.

Takeaways

Predators: Steven Stamkos had one of Nashville’s best scoring opportunities when a rebound from Alexandre Carrier kicked it out to the side of the net, but Wolf cut a path to deny it. In his first year in Nashville after 16 seasons with Tampa Bay, the 34-year-old has eight points (four goals, four assists) in 18 games, but just two points (1-1) at even strength.

Flames: The power play remains a sore spot, despite the personnel changes on both units. The Flames had a two-man lead late in the second period for nearly two minutes, but Jonathan Huberdeau’s innocuous-looking 18-yard wrist shot from the blue line was the only shot on goal.

Key moment

With the game scoreless in the third period, Calgary finally broke through at 6:38 on an offensive zone faceoff win from Nazen Kadri, who pulled the puck back to MacKenzie Weegar. After faking a shot, Weegar sent a pass to Miromanov, who broke in from the point and fired a shot over Saros’ shoulder.

Key stat

The low-scoring game was a showdown between the league’s two smallest goaltenders. At five feet tall, Saros is an inch shorter than Wolf, who is the lightest netminder at 166 pounds.

Next

Predators: Continue their road trip on Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks.

Flames: We host the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.