NHL Scores: Juuse Saros has unreal game as Nashville Predators eliminate Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames faced off against the Nashville Predators in the most entertaining game of the night in what was the penultimate outing for the Flames and their last gasp for a playoff spot.

The Flames couldn’t get the job done, as they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, thanks to a brilliant goaltending performance by Juuse Saros.

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Calgary Flames eliminated by Nashville Predators in overtime loss

The Nashville Predators, still clinging onto their playoff hopes, needed the win and got it.

With the 3-2 victory, the Predators moved three points out of a playoff spot with two games remaining. The two games are the same as the Jets' final two, against the Wild and Avalanche. They will need to take down both while the Jets fall in both to claim the final spot in the Western Conference.

Both goalies came to play in the opening two frames. The score heading into the final frame was a goal apiece for either team. Egor Afanasyev was the first to get a point on the board for the Predators. Afanasyev took advantage of a misplayed puck by Jacob Markstrom and fired it into the near-empty net six minutes into the opening period.

The Calgary Flames played catch-up all night. In the second period, they knotted up the score at 1-1 when Troy Stetcher took advantage of a Predators turnover at the red line on a power play to fire the puck past a screened Juuse Saros. Momentum flipped seriously in front of the home crowd with a shorthanded goal.

In the third, each team would take a crack at the score sheet. Four minutes into the final frame, Zach Sanford caught Jacob Markstrom asleep and tucked in a second-chance opportunity into the net to put Nashville one-goal ahead.

Minutes later, the Calgary Flames captured the puck on a misplayed Predators breakout attempt and Huberdaeu and Mangapaine went tic-tac-toe to Mikael Backlund to even up the score at 2-2 at the end of regulation.

It would take more than an extra frame to determine the Flames’ playoff fate. Neither team could put the puck in the net in the five minutes of overtime. Jonathan Huberdaeu scored the first shootout attempt, but the Flames could never get the second to ice it.

Eventually, Cody Glass beat Jacob Markstrom to tie up the shootout. A Juuse Saros save later, Tommy Novak’s wrist shot ended the Flames' playoff hopes.