Hockey·Halloween Thriller

Tkachuk's between-the-legs beauty caps wild OT comeback for Flames

Matthew Tkachuk tied the game in the final minute of regulation and scored the winning goal with just over a second left in overtime on a nifty shot between his legs, leading the Calgary Flames to a 6-5 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Calgary forward scores with less than 2 ticks remaining to beat Predators

Matthew Tkachuk, right, scored in the final minute of the third period and then potted the OT winner as the Calgary Flames topped the Nashville Predators 6-5 on Thursday. (Mark Zaleski/Associated Press)

Matthew Tkachuk didn't think a comeback win was possible after Calgary's terrible start.

Then, he scored a pair of improbable goals for a come-from-behind win.

Tkachuk scored the tying goal with 40 seconds left in regulation and the winning goal with 1.4 seconds left in overtime on a between-the-legs shot as the Flames' beat the Nashville Predators 6-5 on Thursday night.

Calgary rallied from a three-goal deficit after Nashville took the game's first 14 shots.

"I didn't think it was going to be possible after the first 20 minutes or first 10 minutes," Tkachuk said. "We were all over them in that third period and that's the way we need to be to be at our best."

On the winner, Tkachuk skated in front of the net against two Nashville defenders, let the puck slip between his legs and flipped a shot that beat Predators goalie Pekka Rinne high to the stick side.

WATCH | Tricky Tkachuk seals win for Flames:

Game Wrap: Tkachuk's ridiculous game-winner caps Flames comeback win

5 years ago
Duration 1:41
Matthew Tkachuk scored a pair of goals, including an OT-winner you need to see to believe, in the Calgary Flames 6-5 win over the Nashville Predators.

Derek Ryan, Rasmus Andersson, Elias Lindholm and Alan Quine also scored for the Flames.

Austin Watson scored twice, Calle Jarnrkok scored two short-handed goals and Nick Bonino had a goal as the Predators saw their four-game win streak halted.

"I think this comeback kind of gives us confidence that we can be down in the third, even though we don't want to be, and we can come back," Tkachuk said. "So I guess that's the positive we can take."

Tkachuk's rebound goal with 40 seconds left tied the game at 5 and forced overtime.

Calgary's David Rittich made 31 saves. Rinne made 21 saves.

'Springboard' for Flames

Quine's first goal tied it at 4 with 3:21 left. Watson gave Nashville a 5-4 lead with 1:22 remaining.

Lindholm scored his team-leading ninth goal from close range, narrowing the gap to 4-3 of the third period.

"A lot of good things in the third period and it looks a lot more like us, right," Flames coach Bill Peters said. "We put the work boots on and played with some speed and possessed the puck. It should be a springboard to bigger and better things."

Calgary didn't take its first shot until about six minutes remained in the first period.

Bonino gave the Predators a 1-0 lead when he scored on a backhanded rebound at 5:33 of the first period.

It was his fourth straight goal, including a hat trick in Nashville's 3-0 win over Chicago on Tuesday. The centre leads the Predators with seven goals.

Watson rewards Preds

Watson scored on assists from Colton Sissons and Matt Irwin, increasing Nashville's lead to 2-0 at 10:15 of the first.

Watson signed a three-year, $4.5 million US contract extension earlier in the day.

Ryan scored on the Flames' second shot, a wrist shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle, narrowing the gap to 2-1 at 15:27 of the first.

Calgary almost tied it when Johnny Gaudreau's wrist shot bounced off the right post before Rinne smothered the rebound in the crease 18 minutes into the first.

The Flames missed another chance to tie when a shot hit the post again early in the second period.

Jarnkrok scored his first short-handed goal on a 2-on-1 breakaway after a Calgary turnover, sending a wrist shot into high near post past Rittich, boosting Nashville's lead to 3-1 at 4:36 of the second period.

Jarnkrok scored his second short-handed goal on another 2-on1 after a Flames turnover, firing a wrist shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle past Rittich for a 4-1 lead at 18:52 on the second.

Anderson narrowed the deficit to 4-2 in the third.