Flames’ strong effort vs. Lightning undone by lack of balanced attack
In a tale as long as the season, the Flames simply couldn’t score against the Lightning. But that didn’t stop Jon Cooper from giving Calgary a glowing review after the game: ““They’re going to be a handful, no doubt.”
admin
TAMPA – Jon Cooper knows a thing or two about what it takes to win in today’s game.
Having just added a 4 Nations Face-Off title to a resume that includes a pair of Stanley Cup championships, his opinion matters.
And so, when the Tampa Bay Lightning coach gives a glowing assessment of the Flames team his club just beat 3-0, it means something.
“This is one game… but there doesn’t seem to be any holes,” said ol’ Coop, still riding high off of guiding Canada to 4 Nations glory.
“The goalie can play, they get defencemen that move the puck, they play an aggressive style, but when they’re in the defensive zone they just don’t give you a whole ton.
“They can roll any line over the boards, and they’re hard to play against.
“They defend.
“They’re going to be a handful, no doubt.”
-
-
Watch Hockey Central Trade Deadline on Sportsnet
Sportsnet’s hockey news breakers, analysts and reporters will have coast-to-coast coverage of all the moves made ahead of this season’s NHL trade deadline. Full coverage on March 7 begins at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Two games after a tenacious forecheck and defensive clinic lifted the Flames to a shocking 3-1 win in Washington, a similar effort and approach found them on the short end of the score at Amalie Arena.
In a tale as long as the season, the Flames simply couldn’t score.
Keyed by a brilliant rebound save on Jonathan Huberdeau early in the second period of a game the hosts led 1-0, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 27 shots the Flames threw his way.
While only a few forced the Russian star to be at his very best, he was equal to every challenge.
It happens.
It’s been a theme in Calgary where the lads have managed to stay in the thick of a tight wild-card race despite sitting bottom five in league scoring.
Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato certainly did their best to pressure the Bolts, with the first line combining for 11 shots.
They haven’t been the problem.
As Ryan Huska concurred afterward, it’s everyone else who needs to start chipping in with more regularity if this bunch is going to keep pace.
“When you don’t score goals, someone’s got to step up and generate,” said Huska, whose club outshot the Lightning 27-23.
“Other guys have got to get themselves involved offensively because you can’t ask (the top line) to do it every night. We need to find a way to get some other guys with a little bit more jump right now that way.”
He’s talking to the second and third lines.
Mikael Backlund, Blake Coleman and Connor Zary have been slow to build chemistry coming out of the break, as has the all-new trio of Yegor Sharangovich, Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost.
While management certainly feels like everyone up front is properly slotted, with an eye on providing a balanced attack, it hasn’t come to fruition as of yet.
For the third night in a row, Ryan Lomberg’s fourth line set the pace and tone with energy that followed an on-ice interview with Sportsnet’s Ryan Leslie before puck drop in which the former Panthers mucker was asked if he hated playing in Tampa.
“I like the palm trees and the sunshine, but I (expletive) hate these guys,” said the colourful winger, who subsequently generated two high danger scoring chances with his speed.
While there are no moral victories at this point in the season, no one was hanging their head in the dressing room afterward. Full marks for the effort.
Two nights after opening the Flames opened the scoring with a lucky goal off the leg of Martin Pospisil, the hockey world balanced things out with a centering pass by Nikita Kucherov that bounced in off of MacKenzie Weegar’s leg late in the first.
It spoiled an otherwise stellar opening frame.
The Flames squandered a couple power plays in the second period before Erik Cernak beat Dustin Wolf early in the third. A Branden Hagel empty-netter with three minutes left capped the win.
/* if ( "1" == true && 'undefined' !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) { var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}}; adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( 'http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6369408636112&cmsid=384', so, permalink); } else { adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6369408636112&cmsid=384"; } */ adServerUrl = "http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300x250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6369408636112&cmsid=384"; var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.includes("cust_params"); var queryString=''; if(adServerUrl_result){ var gettheDUFI = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem("theRED_loc");
if(gettheDUFI){ queryString += "dufiid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; queryString += "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; var ppid = "ppid=" + gettheDUFI + '&'; }
var DUFI_IP = false; if (localStorage.getItem("consent") !== null && localStorage.getItem("consent-targeting") !== null) DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem("DUFI_IP");
if(DUFI_IP){ queryString += "dufiip=" + DUFI_IP + '&'; }
adServerUrl = adServerUrl.replace(/cust_params=/, ppid + 'cust_params=' + encodeURIComponent(queryString) ); }
$el.after( unescape("%3Cscript src=\"" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js\" %3E%3C/script%3E") );
$( document ).one( 'ready', function() { $( "#video_container-693018" ).SNPlayer( { bc_account_id: "1704050871", bc_player_id: "JCdte3tMv", //autoplay: true, //is_has_autoplay_switch: false, bc_videos: 6369408636112, is_has_continuous_play: "false", adserverurl: adServerUrl, section: "", thumbnail: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/6369408636112-1024x576.jpg", direct_url: "https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/good-memories-flames-coleman-on-returning-to-tampa-for-600th-nhl-game/" }); });
“Honestly, I thought we played a great game,” said Blake Coleman, who celebrated this 600th NHL spin in the barn in which he helped Tampa win two Cups.
“We got a tough bounce in the kill in the first that gives them a little life. We’ve got to find a way to score goals and get in the goalie’s eyes and finish chances. I should have buried a couple, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. If we can find some offence, we’ll be okay the rest of this trip.”
Next up comes a back-to-back through Florida and Carolina starting Saturday, followed by stops in Philadelphia and Dallas ahead of next Friday’s trade deadline.
“We knew this road trip was going to be tough and it’s going to show with our response in Florida,” vowed Weegar.
“That was a good road game.”
Just not quite good enough.
