The rivalry may have started in Tuesday’s thriller at Bridgestone Arena.
If the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators do, indeed, hook up for a best-of-seven set to open the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, this final regular-season meeting is going to be tough to top. A feisty, physical affair was punctuated by Matthew Tkachuk’s buzzer-beater with 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation and then capped by Elias Lindholm’s sudden-death snipe as the Flames rallied for a 5-4 overtime victory.
“I think everyone that was here and watching on TV got their money’s worth,” grinned Flames forward Milan Lucic. “I’ve gotta say, I’ve played over 1,000 games now and that’s probably in the top five games that I’ve been a part of with the hits, the fights, the emotion, the crowd. It was a great game to be a part of.”
