Lightning at Flames
The Calgary Flames must recover quickly from a demoralizing loss, in their first game out of the All-Star break, when they host the NHL-best Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night. The Flames held a one-goal lead with less than two minutes left Tuesday before coughing up three in a 4-2 setback against Western Conference-leading Vegas, extending their losing streak to five games (0-1-4).
“Games like this, they sting. They hurt,” Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters. “They hurt every guy, they hurt everybody here, but it’s how you react to it. The good teams, you get back after a tough one like this and that’s what we’re going to have to do.” The Flames have managed only eight goals during the losing streak and need to get their top guys going again when they attempt to sweep the season series, after winning in Tampa Bay 5-1 on Jan. 11. The Lightning had won three in a row before the break, but were outshot 37-24 en route to a 3-1 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday to start a four-game swing through Western Canada. “I think we have to up our compete a little more,” Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson told reporters. “I felt there were definitely points in the game the Jets were playing a lot harder than us, and that can’t happen. That’s on us, and it has to get better the next game.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Tampa Bay), Sportsnet 360 (Calgary)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (34-13-3): The big positive out of Tuesday’s game was the early return of Norris Trophy candidate Victor Hedman, who logged 25 minutes of ice time after missing five games with a lower-body injury. Right wing Nikita Kucherov, who leads the league with 64 points, has not scored a goal in eight games while center Brayden Point boasts three tallies and five points in his past five contests. All-Star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was rested Tuesday, is expected back in net against Calgary with an NHL-leading 29 victories to go along with a .931 save percentage.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (25-17-8): All-Star forward Johnny Gaudreau has not scored a goal since leaving the Sunshine State in mid January, managing two assists in the last five contests after being shut out in his past two outings. Gaudreau had a goal and an assist against the Lightning before scoring at Florida on Jan. 12 and center Sean Monahan (team-leading 22 goals) owns only one point (goal) in his last five contests. Matthew Tkachuk is the only player on a strong run for the Flames, posting four goals in the last four games, while fellow forward Micheal Ferland (19 goals) has not scored in seven contests.
OVERTIME
1. The Lightning went 3-for-29 on the power play in the 12 January games while the Flames are 1-for-19 in the past five.
2. Tampa Bay C Matthew Peca has a goal, an assist and boasts a plus-4 rating in four games since being recalled.
3. Calgary RW Michael Frolik had an assist Tuesday in his return to the lineup after missing 12 games with a broken jaw.