Flames get road win at Tampa Bay
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Calgary Flames continued their strong play on the road, pulling out a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at Amalie Arena.
Tampa Bay got a power-play goal from Nikita Kucherov -- his team-best 23rd of the season -- to pull within a goal with 1:13 left, but the Lightning couldn't get the tying goal in the final minute after pulling their goalie.
The Flames scored their first two goals in a span of 81 seconds early in the second period, but got much-needed separation late in the third with a power-play goal by Dougie Hamilton -- his 10th of the season -- with 2:58 remaining in the game after the Lightning were called for a tripping penalty.
Calgary (31-26-4) got strong play from goalie Brian Elliott, who needed only 23 saves -- but three in the final minute -- to close out the win. The Flames defense stepped up, two nights after giving up five goals but still pulling off a win in overtime at Nashville.
Tampa Bay (27-25-8) had a chance to pull within two points of the final wild card in the Eastern Conference, playing two-plus periods of good defensive hockey sandwiched around a two-minute lapse.
Calgary continues a back-to-back with a game at Florida on Friday night, while the Lightning continues its four-game home stand against the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
The Lightning jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Calgary scored twice in a span of 81 seconds to take a 2-1 lead that they'd carry into the final period.
Mikael Backlund tied the game with 14:56 left in the second, redirecting a long shot from defenseman Mark Giordano downward so the puck bounced and went past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to make it 1-1. With 13:35 left, Sean Monahan gave Calgary the lead with his 20th goal of the season. The goal was also the 100th of his short NHL career -- at 22 years old, he's the sixth-youngest active player to get to 100 career goals.
Tampa Bay had taken the lead on a long redirection of its own -- defenseman Braydon Coburn's shot was redirected by Vladislav Namestnikov and past goalie Brian Elliott with 13:43 left in the opening period.
Calgary outshot Tampa Bay 8-5 in the first and 10-7 in the second, with the Lightning trying to extend a streak of seven straight games without a regulation loss. Both teams are in the thick of the wild-card hunt, with Calgary entering the night clinging to the second wild card in the West and the Lightning four games back of the last wild card in the East.
NOTES: The only five active players to get to 100 career goals at a younger age than Calgary's Sean Monahan: Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Florida's Jaromir Jagr, Washington's Alex Ovechkiin and Chicago's Patrick Kane. ... The Lightning played without C Jonathan Drouin, who has been sidelined by the flu. ... C Freddie Hamilton was a healthy scratch for Calgary.