After a 2-1 loss, the Tampa Bay Lightning are not focusing on their offensive play as they prepare for a road game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Instead, the Lightning are concentrating on their defensive game after a disappointing 5-3 defeat to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, which ended their two-game winning streak.
“I think we gave up four breakaways in the first 20 minutes,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper. “It’s unacceptable, and that’s how you walk away with no points in a hockey game.”
Before the Edmonton game, the Lightning had scored 30 goals over a six-game stretch, which helped them rise to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
But all that was forgotten after a poor performance, despite the unlucky nature of the game-winning goal. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped Leon Draisaitl on a breakaway, but the puck bounced off the skate of defenseman Victor Hedman and into the net.
“We gave up way too many odd-man (rushes) to just blame it on a bad bounce. Probably unlucky how it turned out, but I think we had more in that game,” said Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser. “It was a wasted game. There were certainly points in it for us, and that’s what (stinks) right now.”
Forward Jake Guentzel is heading into the Calgary game with a four-game goal-scoring streak for the Lightning, who are 1-1-0 to start a four-game road trip.
The Flames are returning home after breaking an eight-game road losing streak (0-5-3) with a 4-3 comeback victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Before that win, the Flames had only one victory in their last seven games (1-4-2).
“We found a way to win that game and end that little skid that we had on the road. That’s great,” said forward Jonathan Huberdeau, who has three goals and four assists in a five-game point streak. “Now we’ve got a big stretch coming up at home, so we’ve got to take advantage of that.”
The Flames have earned points in their last seven home games (6-0-1) and have a 10-3-1 record at the Saddledome, where they will play their next five games.
Not only did the Flames score more than three goals for the first time in 26 games (excluding shootout goals), but they also did a great job of shutting down the opposition’s offense in the third period to protect their lead.
“Third period, when the game was on the line, I thought we had some key shot blocks. That’s something that’s important for our team,” said Calgary coach Ryan Huska.
Another key factor was the special teams battle. Calgary’s penalty kill, which had struggled all season, was perfect for the second straight game, and Huberdeau’s game-winning goal came during a second-period power play against the league’s top penalty kill.
“These are the goals that you want to score,” Huberdeau said. “That was a huge one for us, taking that lead. In the third period, we kind of shut down the opposition.”
