There has been no love lost between the Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames this season.
While Nashville has won the regular-season series, picking up a 4-3 win on Saturday in Calgary, there have been 118 penalty minutes combined across those three games.
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The most recent matchup featured two fights, a 10-minute misconduct and a missed sucker punch that left Predators head coach Andrew Brunette irate at the officials.
It was a chippy game that was a lot closer than the previous one, but in the end, it was the impact of Nic Hague that resonated and gave the Nashville Predators the win.
“It’s never going to be easy for us, and it hasn’t been all year, and tonight was another example of that, but I’m really proud of the group,” Hague said. “We stuck together and kept pushing for that next goal.”
John Beecher’s impact in the game could debatably led to the Predators’ win. During a scrum in the first period with Michael McCarron, Beecher got a punch in that caused McCarron to fall to the ice.
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Brunette and the Predators argued that Beecher should’ve been given a match penalty as his lick in on McCarron could’ve been deemed a suck punch. Beecher was not given an extra penalty, as both he and McCarron were given roughing and misconduct calls.
Fast forward to the second period, right as Ryan Lomberg broke into the Predators zone, creating a prime scoring chance, Hague dropped the gloves with Beecher.
It’s unknown whether or not Hague was aware of the Flames’ offensive chance generating down the ice, but the fight stopped the play dead in its tracks.
“We believe that we’re a good team. There’s going to be ups and downs through the season and throughout a game, but there was no better example than tonight,” Hague said. “We just never backed down, no matter if it was physically or finding our own play. That’s what good teams do and it took us right to the end.”
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In the final minute of the game, tied, McCarron and Cole Smith worked the puck up the boards to Hague at the point. He let a slapshot go that went in, beating Dustin Wolf’s glove side for the game-winning goal with 27 seconds left in the game.
Jan 3, 2026; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Nashville Predators defenseman Nicolas Hague (41) and Calgary Flames center John Beecher (18) fight during the second period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
“They (Calgary) get one late to tie it up, but there wasn’t any discouragement on the bench and we gotta go out there and work for that next one,” Hague said. “Mac’s (McCarron) line did an unbelievable job all night getting it (the puck) on the forecheck and (generating) the last goal.”
In addition to the game-winning goal, it was announced on Sunday that Beecher is scheduled to have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on the McCarron sucker punch.
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With the win, Nashville is still very much in the hunt for the final Wild Card spot in the west, now just one point out after the San Jose Sharks lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Nashville is now at 19-18-4, with 42 points and can move into that final Wild Card spot if it defeats the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
“We’ve had a lot of grit all year,” Brunette said. “We’ve gone through stuff together, stayed together and we’ve never been tighter. We grow every day and we’re continuing to get better, but we also believe in each other…It’s nice to get the win in a hard place to play.”
