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(SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. With losses in three straight and seven of their last 10 games, the Nashville Predators have seriously damaged their already slim playoff chances. The Predators hope to boost their fading postseason hopes when they visit the Flames for Fridays clash at the Saddledome. Calgary is one of only two teams behind the Predators in the Western Conference standings. With only 12 games left in its regular-season schedule, Nashville is 11 points behind Phoenix for the last wild card berth in the West. The Flames, who trail Nashville by five points in the standings, can win the season series against the Preds on Friday. Nashville earned a 4-2 home win on Jan. 14, but Calgary responded 10 days later with a 5-4 shootout victory at the Saddledome. Nashville has won six of nine in the series overall, but the Flames have claimed three straight and five of the last six encounters in Calgary. Although the Flames are headed for a fifth straight year out of the playoffs, the club has played solid hockey of late, picking up their third win in four games with Tuesdays home victory over Buffalo. Mike Cammalleri and Paul Byron scored in the third period to help the Flames earn the 3-1 decision, while Calgarys Joni Ortio, in his eighth NHL start, outdueled Buffalos Nathan Lieuwen. Ortio gave up one goal on four shots in the first period -- Drew Staffords wraparound after a Calgary turnover behind the net -- and only needed to record 13 saves for the win. Joe Colborne scored the other goal for the Flames in the second period. "The boys regrouped between the first and second and we skated so much better. We saw our team working and making great plays," Flames head coach Bob Hartley said. The win pushed Calgarys record on home ice this season to 16-16-3. The Flames will visit Edmonton on Saturday before returning to the Saddledome for a three-game homestand against San Jose, Anaheim and the New York Rangers. With an average of 2.34 goals per game, the Predators offence has been a sore spot for the club all season long. The problem has been magnified of late, as Nashville has been held to one goal or less in seven of its past 10 games. The Preds have notched a total of two goals during their current three-game slide and the club was shut out Wednesday night in Vancouver, dropping a 2-0 decision against the Canucks. That setback came one day after Nashville opened a four-game road trip with a 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the bottom team in the Western Conference. Rookie goaltender Eddie Lack of the Canucks made 30 saves to frustrate the Predators on Wednesday. Nashville failed to score despite having four power- play opportunities, including two in the third period. Carter Hutton turned aside 20-of-22 shots for the Predators to take a tough- luck loss. "Weve got to get some goals for our goaltender," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "Carter Hutton had a good game for us. We need some production from our forwards. Weve got virtually zero. If our defense arent scoring, were not scoring it seems like." Nashville lost forward Paul Gaustad to an upper-body injury on Wednesday and he expects to miss tonights contest. Gaustad has nine goals and seven assists in 70 games this season. The Preds recalled Calle Jarnkrok from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and the forward is set to make his NHL debut on Friday. Jarnkrok was acquired from Detroit before the trade deadline in the deal that sent David Legwand to the Red Wings. The 22-year-old Swede has compiled 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 62 total AHL games with Milwaukee and the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. Nashville, which will complete its current swing this Sunday in Chicago, is 14-14-6 as the road team this season. Cheap Football Jerseys 2018 . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Stitched Baseball Jerseys . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United. http://www.mlbjerseyscheap.net/. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Harris has played in six games since joining the Argos in 2012, completing 17-of-35 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap . Speaking on Leafs Lunch with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan on Thursday, Bernier said it was "very hard" at times being entrenched behind Jonathan Quick and is now excited at the prospect of getting an opportunity to compete with Reimer for the top spot with the Leafs.OAKLAND – The following is a question this writer did not expect to type this season: where would the Blue Jays be without the contribution of J.A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. Efficiency has been an issue for Happ during his time in Toronto. Hes acquired a reputation as a five-inning pitcher, driven prematurely from outings because hes plodded along to 100 pitches far too soon. Its gotten late, often, far too early. Something has changed. Suddenly, in more starts than not, Happ is working deep, positively affecting the result. When he returned to the rotation on May 5 in Philadelphia, Happs future was being determined on a start-to-start basis. The leash is now longer. Since being acquired from the Astros in July 2012, Happ has been a starter and a reliever; hes been injured, first with a fractured foot two seasons ago and then with head and knee injuries last year, the result of a horrifying line drive off his skull on May 7, 2013 in Tampa Bay. His back flared up in spring training, resulting in a horrible March that cost him his spot in the rotation and landed him on the disabled list for opening day. There have been periods of self doubt, he admitted to TSN.ca. "I certainly would be lying if I said no to that," said Happ. "Last year there was a point where I tried to talk to (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) one on one and was just like, What have you got? I know Im capable of more and Im willing to do whatever it takes to get over the hump. I never thought I was far away but I just couldnt quite get over the hump for whatever reason. It comes and goes and it still does." Happ is a quiet guy. He doesnt say much, at least not when media have access to the players. Nobody would accuse Happ of seeking the limelight. He laughed in spring training, after he was away from the team for two days to deal with the back problem, when it was pointed out to him that a guy so quiet couldnt seem to avoid controversy. Hes heard the talk and hes read the articles. He knows he has his critics and his doubters; hes been one himself. Happ isnt bitter. "I think you write what you see and if thats what you see then thats your interpretation and understanding," said Happ. "Thats how this thing works. I cant be mad at anybody for what they feel like or whatever. I just know what I knew, or know, Im capable of so thats why I try to defend myself in situations where Im maybe not in a position where Id like to be." Happ has allies in two of important places: the managers and coaches offices, where John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker reside. Gibbons has consistently defended his left-hander, quick to point out Happs ordeal last season and confident that a slight arm slot adjustment ultimately would pay off. "Ive always been a fan of the guy," said Gibbons. "Ive always known what hes capable of, but the bottom line is hes got to go out and do that. Hes had his ups and downs along the way but eeverybody in the game at this level, I mean, very few guys take this game by storm year after year.ddddddddddddquot; "I think hes comfortable in that slot right now," said Walker. "Its not as high as it used to be and its not as low as he first started when we dropped him down. Its kind of that in-between slot and I think hes really comfortable throwing there. I think hes in a good place physically and mentally he looks forward to that ball every five days." Happ has been told to attack the strike zone. Hes been told to pitch to contact. Hes been told to more aggressively use his fastball. Hes doing both. Consider this: in his start against the White Sox on June 26, a 7-0 win in which he went 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball, Happ threw 124 pitches, 111 of which were fastballs. The relationship with Walker is an important one to Happ, forged when he joined the Blue Jays two years ago. Walker was the bullpen coach at the time. Happ was a reliever who believed he should be a starter. The two meshed. "Hes a guy that I always felt like he felt that I was capable of more and expected more and kind of knew that it was in there," said Happ. "I know thats kind of part of his job and he probably does it to everybody but hes very good at individualizing things and I always felt like he kind of had my back and I felt the same way about Gibby too. Maybe thats the reason why Im still here." There will be future outings when Happ struggles. The aim, of course, is to turn those into the exception rather than the rule. That June 21 start in Cincinnati, for example. Happ got rapped for seven earned runs in four innings. He bounced back with that gem against the White Sox and a strong start against the Brewers. The doubters who believed Happ, version Cincinnati, was the real guy were forced to reconsider. So if this is the real Happ, what happened? Why did a left-handed pitcher with a mid-90s fastball lack mound presence? Why did it appear that he didnt trust his repertoire? "Any answer to this is going to sound like an excuse and thats the last thing I want it to be," said Happ. "I let myself get caught up in a situation, playing on a team that wasnt very successful and I allowed that to affect me mentally as much I tried to not (let it). I think I probably got into some bad habits." Those bad habits were both mental and mechanical. Success, however, breeds confidence. Happ has had some success. His body language on the mound projects confidence. Maybe Yogi Berra was right when he suggested that 90 per cent of baseball is half mental. "Youve got to believe and youve got to really believe that you guys have got a chance out there in order for it to happen," said Happ. "You cant just wish things to happen in this game. They just dont. Youve got to go make it happen. I had a tough couple of years trying to kind of find myself and who I think I should be and I feel good about getting in a place where my body feels good, my mechanics feel good and Im just a little more free in everything. I felt like I had to be perfect for a lot of the time for things to go right and thats just not the case." ' ' '