3 Takeaways from Flames' 4-3 Win Over the Predators – Hockey Writers – Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames were able to pull off a rare but big road win last night, beating the Nashville Predators 4-3 in the finals. It was a much-needed win after five straight losses entering the tournament. With their win, they improved their season record to 14-10-5.

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This game was again against the Flames, as they trailed three times. Somehow, they keep finding ways to get back into games, which is a true testament to a strong team. With that said, here are three key takeaways from a very entertaining game.

Being offended is alive

There have been many concerns about this Flames team heading into the 2024-25 season, one of which is who they can rely on on offense. They are a team that lacks high-level talent up front, and that has shown through their first 29 games of the season.

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Last night was the first time the Flames had scored four goals in one game since beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 in the finals on October 13. Some of them were bad luck, and thankfully, there was some luck. last night. While no one should expect them to suddenly become a big attacking team, this game should help instill confidence in them going forward.

Huberdeau Scores Again

One Flames forward who has had a strong start offensively is Jonathan Huberdeau. He's not producing at the level that would suggest $10.5 billion as he should be, but few expected him to do so this season. The lowering of expectations seems to have lifted his shoulders as he is playing the best hockey we have seen from him in a Flames uniform.

Huberdeau ended up scoring the game-winner and is now riding a five-game point streak. His 10 goals in the season lead the Flames, making him able to score an average of 28 goals. That's a total, considering that even when he was producing high numbers with the Florida Panthers, he was able to score 30 points twice.

Kevin Rooney The Unlikely Hero

Considering how hard it has been for the Flames to come up with goals this season, they need some depth players to step up and provide more goals to win. They got that last night from one of the most unexpected players in their lineup in Kevin Rooney.

“When you get your fourth line you give like that, you always take it, but if you get a night there it's two. [goals] when we come, we're going to take it every time,” said coach Ryan Huska. “As a coach, I am always happy with the team [block] Kevin was late to our game. They all did a great job tonight, it helped us win.”

Rooney has been a reliable fourth line player for the Flames providing valuable minutes on the penalty kill. That being said, his offense is almost there as he entered last night's game with only two points in 20 games. He was able to double that tally, as he scored the Flames' second goal of the evening, while adding a second assist on Brayden Pachal's goal 11 minutes later.

Facing the Flames

Another thing that made this win big for the Flames is that they have a tough schedule to close their week. They will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, before hosting the Florida Panthers on Saturday. The good thing is that both games will be back at home, where the record is 10-3-1 this season.