Flames 6, Predators 3
CALGARY -- During the offseason, Curtis Glencross spends his time working on his family's ranches and following the chuckwagon driving circuit.
Naturally, the Calgary Flames forward would have a big game on Western Night.
Glencross is nursing a bad wrist that put him out of action for a couple of games last weekend, but that hasn't slowed his scoring. He netted a hat trick Friday, all the goals in the third period, to help lead the Flames to a 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The end result never seemed in doubt, but Glencross, who's leading the Flames in goals with 12 this season, broke the game wide open for good early in the third period and capped his night with an empty-netter, which sent the cowboy hats to the ice in his honor.
His first goal came on a lucky bounce. A rebound bounced off his leg and into the net 1:14 into the final period, putting Calgary in front 4-1. His second was a perfectly executed redirection of Lee Stempniak's cross-ice pass.
The Flames improved to 11-11-4 by winning their sixth straight home game.
The Predators fell to 11-11-6. They have just one victory in last nine road games, and they still have two more dates on their current five-game swing, Sunday in Edmonton and Tuesday in Columbus.
On a night when the Flames picked a theme that honored both city's ties to the country lifestyle, the hosts gave their fans reason to party early. Mark Giordano and Blake Comeau scored with Calgary's first two shots on goal to chase Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne, who was replaced by Chris Mason.
Jiri Hudler added a second-period, power-play goal for the Flames, while goalie Miikka Kiprusoff made 17 saves to record the win.
Gabriel Bourque, Mike Fisher and David Legwand scored for the Predators. Mason wound up saving 16 of the 19 shots he faced.
NOTES: Sergei Kostitsyn was a healthy scratch by the Predators, a bit of a curious move considering their scoring woes and the fact that they were without forwards Patrik Hornqvist, Colin Wilson and Paul Gaustad. ... Flames forward Blake Comeau scored goals in consecutive games for the first time since coming to Calgary and the first time since March 2011, while he played for the New York Islanders. Comeau, who snapped a 24-game goal-scoring drought when he netted his first of the season, has three goals in six games. A former 24-goal scorer a couple of seasons ago, he managed only five goals all of last season. ... Predators goalie Pekka Rinne was given the hook in consecutive games on back-to-back nights. It's the fourth time Rinne has not finished a start in his last eight outings. It's a strange set of circumstances for a goalie who also has five shutouts this season. ... The Flames have yet to record a shutout this season. ... The Flames now have a record of 5-2-1 when facing teams which played the night before.
