Music: {allcanada} Calgary (24-21-6) at Nashville (27-17-6)

Monday, January 31, 2011

{allcanada} Calgary (24-21-6) at Nashville (27-17-6)

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Game info: 8:00 pm EST Tue Feb 1, 2011
TV: RSW, FSTN

The Calgary Flames are hoping the All-Star break hasn't slowed the momentum they have built in getting back into contention in the Western Conference playoff race.

They'll try for their first five-game win streak of the season Tuesday night when they look for a sixth straight road victory over the Nashville Predators.

Calgary (24-21-6) was mired in 14th place in the West for a 37-day stretch before taking the final two games of this run. The Flames are now 12th but only two points out of the final two spots.

"Your schedule is your schedule," coach Brent Sutter said of the All-Star break. "It's the same for everyone in the league."

Calgary moved out of 14th with a 3-1 victory over Nashville (27-17-6) last Monday and also won 4-1 over St. Louis on Wednesday. Miikka Kiprusoff (notes) has posted a 1.62 goals-against average in winning his last three starts after being pulled early in two of his previous four.

"I think the key thing is how we've been playing," Kiprusoff said. "If we keep it up, we're definitely going to be able to go up a few spots right away. You know, it's pretty close there, it's a lot of teams close to each other so we have to be able to keep playing well night after night."

David Moss (notes) notched his fourth two-goal game in his last 12 on Wednesday. He totaled four goals in his first 26 contests.

"It's just one of those things, I can't explain it," Moss said. "It's a good streak to be on, there are worse things for sure."

Kiprusoff has a 1.19 GAA with two shutouts while starting every game of the Flames' five-game win streak at Bridgestone Arena. He made 34 saves there to outduel Pekka Rinne (notes) in a 1-0 overtime win Oct. 19 and had 23 stops in last week's home win.

"Kiprusoff played really well and they played a great team game," said Nashville defenseman Cody Franson (notes) about the last meeting. "It was tough for us to generate anything."

The October matchup marked the only time in five career starts against the Flames that Rinne has allowed fewer than three goals. He is 0-3-1 with a 3.50 GAA in those games.

The Predators have dropped consecutive games since a 10-2-0 stretch. They fell 2-1 at Vancouver on Wednesday to complete a six-game road trip, getting outshot 17-7 in the third period.

"We did want to clamp down but I think unfortunately we sat back, and that's not good against a team that's second in the NHL," said defenseman Shea Weber (notes), who had four assists in Sunday's All-Star game. "They had lots of time to change the momentum and it went back in their favor."

Weber has a team-high 30 points but just one in his last eight games against Calgary.

Nashville is 2-7-1 against Calgary since the start of 2008-09 and has produced one power-play goal in its last 31 chances in the series. The Predators have the league's third-worst power play at 13.8 percent.