Nashville Predators can't handle the Flames, lose 5-0

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Calgary Flames defenseman Aaron Johnson blocks the path of Nashville Predators left wing Martin Erat in the offensive zone. Erat now has just one shot on goal in his last three games.

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The Calgary Flames ran their impressive road record to 10-1-3 at the expense of the Nashville Predators tonight, thanks to a gritty defensive effort that was complemented with opportunistic scoring. Curtis Glencross led all scorers with a goal and two assists, while Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 22 shots for the shutout.

After the jump we've got the video highlights, recap, and advanced even-strength statistics...

The Flames played pretty much an ideal road game; a concerted effort to backcheck through center ice and defend the slot in their own zone, combined with an ability to capitalize on the offensive opportunities they were able to create for themselves. A scoreless first period led to an early goal in the second for David Moss, who took a blocked shot the other way, breaking in alone on Pekka Rinne.

Rinne was generally solid while the game was competitive as the Preds got outshot 30-22 on the evening. Nashville failed to generate many dangerous scoring chances despite furious line juggling by Barry Trotz in the final period. The Predators power play also failed to connect for the third straight game, this time in three chances.

Martin Erat, after showing some life last week, was completely ineffective once again, with 0 shots on goal in 16:48 of ice time. In his last three games, he has a grand total of 1 shot on goal in a combined 51:48 of action.

Despite the loss, Nashville finished the month with an impressive 9-4-0 record, and remain in 2nd place in the Central Division. They head out for two games on the road now, Wednesday at Minnesota and Friday at Chicago.

Looking at the advanced even-strength stats, the top line of Sullivan-Arnott-Dumont had a rough night, leading to the 3rd period breakup. While Erat had positive Shots For/Against totals for the team while he was on the ice, he needs to play a leading role offensively for Nashville, and so far, his season has been a bust.

As for positives? Take a look down at the bottom again, and admire the fine results for Cody Franson.

Former Nashville Predators goaltender Tomas Vokoun gets struck in the head by his own teammate,...

Nashville Predators principal owner David Freeman admits personal cash-flow issue

In an email sent to senior staff at the Nashville Predators and forwarded to The Tennessean, team chairman and principal owner David Freeman admitted that cash-flow problems are forcing him to sell off some assets in order to pay his tax debt to the IRS. This excerpt comes from his email:

In addition to a rather large equity investment in the team, I also loaned the Predators several million dollars on a "short-term" basis in 2007 to complete the purchase of the team. Due to subsequent events eventually culminating in the bankruptcies of parties associated with the team, it has become appropriate for me to convert my loan into an additional permanent investment in the club.

...Unfortunately, reacting responsibly to the acts of others in a manner most beneficial to the team created a short-term personal liquidity problem for me. I am toward the end stages of liquidating additional assets and paying my tax obligations in full and with the knowledge and cooperation of the IRS.

There are lots of moving parts involved here, and when "bankruptcies of parties associated with the team" are mentioned, that could possibly refer both to "Boots" Del Biaggio and CIT Group, the lending institution which financed much of the franchise purchase and went bankrupt recently.

There's no specification as to which assets are being sold.

Freeman's tax issues came to public attention only because Brian Whitfield, CEO of the Sommet Group, tossed it into his rebuttal of the Preds' lawsuit, in an apparent attempt to distract attention from the Sommet Group's non-payment for arena naming rights.

While I'm sure he'll get raked over the coals in some circles, at least Freeman has taken the initiative to share some explanation publicly.