A two-game trip down to the Sunshine State must have been a dream come true for the members of the Calgary Flames, as they traded their toques, snow boots, and base layers for palm trees, sunglasses, and shorts. However, the mini vacation to Florida, was darker and drearier than they had anticipated. No matter what you chalk it up to — whether it was the change in humidity or one too many Pina coladas — both Florida teams held a masterclass on how to assert dominance against the Flames.
First, a 6-2 drubbing from the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. Followed by 4-1 assault by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
As Johnny Gaudreau would say, the Flames were simply ‘sent back to the gym.’
Flames forward, Blake Coleman, was unsatisfied with his team’s performance against the Lightning.
“[It] just wasn’t good enough all around. Sometimes you learn lessons the hard way in this league and I thought we learned a lot of them tonight,” he said.
Coleman, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning the last two seasons, has been in locker rooms built to make it deep into the playoffs.
“The last two games we’ve gotten looks at teams that are going to be there when it comes to the end of the season and when it matters the most, and now we know what level we have to get our game to.”
If it wasn’t for netminder, Dan Vladar, the Flames would have lost by double digits against the two-time, reigning Stanley Cup Champions. The Czechia native, who held a 5-1-1 record before his loss to the Lightning, would end up stopping 29 of 33 shots and 11 high danger scoring chances, while only letting one goal squeak by in the first two periods.
Flames defensemen, Noah Hanifin (right), gives
his best impersonation of goaltender, Dan Vladar (bottom left),
in their game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
Matthew Tkachuk, Vladar’s teammate, couldn’t help but give his goaltender some high praise for his performance on Thursday.
“I thought he was great. He gave us a chance. The score could have been way more than 1-0 going into the third period,” said Tkachuk.
Despite Vladar keeping it within one goal for much of game, it was obvious that Tampa Bay was the more elite of the two teams. Every aspect the game was dictated by the Bolts and the Flames offense was snuffed out by Victor Hedman and co.
Much to many Flames fans chagrin, the Flames are no strangers to losing against Tampa Bay. In their 47 total games against the Lightning — playoffs included (it WAS in) — the Flames have a 19-27-1 record. As for the last time the Flames defeated the Lightning, well, that was in 2018.
However, Flames bench boss, Darryl Sutter, did not have many any gripes with how his club played on Thursday. Sutter, who also has two Stanley Cups under his belt, knows a good team when he sees one. This was the case with the Lightning.
“There’s nothing wrong with how we played. We just played a better team, to be quite honest,” admitted Sutter.
In order to steal games from these high caliber teams, Sutter expects his players to play a gritty, hard checking game.
“Very seldom you’re going to win 1-0, especially on the road when you’re playing teams with a lot of ammo. You’ve got to check like hell and do your best against them and then you’ve got to square down on your opportunities.”
The Lightning, on the other hand, have Nikita Kucherov to thank in part for their victory. Their Thursday matchup against the Flames marked Kucherov’s first game back from an injury he suffered all the way back on Oct. 16, having missed the last 32 games. The former Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner, barely skipped a beat in his return to Amalie Arena as he notched two assists, including a beautiful one-touch pass to Brayden Point for the game winner.
The one nice thing to come out of the Tampa Bay matchup is that the Flames, yet again, failed to get shutout this regular season. The Flames goose egg was cracked by Dillon Dube, who beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with less than five minutes left in the third period, for just his fourth goal of the season.
The Flames will look to finish of their ‘measuring stick’ or, a more fitting, ‘hell’ week with another challenging game on Friday. They will be visiting the Carolina Hurricanes.
After dropping an overtime game to the Hurricanes in December, Matthew Tkachuk feels more prepared for what their newest opposition brings.
“Carolina doesn’t give you much at all. They’re one of the best defensive teams in the NHL, especially at home,” said Tkachuk.
“We have to be ready for a great challenge, but I think that’s what we need right now.”
Puck drop will be at 5 pm.
Comments