NASHVILLE -- Last month at the Saddledome, the Predators served notice they won't be pushed around by the Flames any longer.
Last night in Nashville, they did some pushing of their own, but all it seemed to do was anger the visitors.
And when the Flames shoved back, there wasn't much the Preds could do to prevent a 3-1 loss last night at the Nashville Arena.
Taking over halfway through the entertaining tilt, the Flames peppered Dan Ellis with 33 shots and keeping Miikka Kiprusoff's workload light until they got into penalty trouble in the last 10 minutes.
Salting things away with an empty-netter from Daymond Langkow, the Flames got the result they deserved.
For the first half of the game, the big plays were going the Predators' way. None of them happened to be scoring chances.
Shea Weber rocked Dion Phaneuf with a jarring shoulder-to-shoulder blow just inside the Preds blueline, then followed it up by shoving Jarome Iginla to the ice at the other end later in the first period.
So much for being nice to your Team Canada teammate. The Iginla incident caused a few Flames to scrum the Predators defenceman after the whistle.
Uncorking a slapper from the blueline just feet away from a brave David Moss made for another painful-looking moment courtesy of Weber, whose shot is considered one of the league's heaviest.
Ryan Jones created a decent scoring chance with a hit on Dustin Boyd in the early going, pouncing on the puck for a shot on Kiprusoff after flattening Boyd in the high slot.
Kiprusoff took a bump from Jones in the second, with Cory Sarich -- who made his return to the lineup after missing 19 games with a foot injury -- providing a little extra momentum into his backstop with a check.
Watching from the stands, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler must have been happy he wasn't the one taking hits for once.
But the battered got their revenge, starting with Moss and Boyd, who teamed with Eric Nystrom to open the scoring 9:32 into the second period.
Despite twice being flattened around the Predators net, Boyd helped Moss fish the puck loose and give Nystrom a shot from in close.
Unable to cover it for a whistle, Ellis was still searching for the puck when Moss finally swiped it into the open side of the net to snap a 14-game goal slump and give the Flames a 1-0 lead.
They piled on in the final seconds of the period when Olli Jokinen jumped on a rebound after a Phaneuf slapper -- Weber isn't the only one known for a booming point shot -- skipped right to the Finn.
Making no mistake as he tossed the puck past a lunging Ellis, Jokinen ended his 11-game goal drought with less than 18 seconds left on the clock.
Patric Hornqvist scored on the powerplay late in third period to bring life back into the building, lifting his shot over Kiprusoff's attempted pokecheck, but it was the only goal they'd manage on the night.
