The league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning came from behind to win a crazy contest at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary on Thursday, when they scored five unanswered goals in a 7-4 win.
OFF NIGHT FOR SMITH
For the first time this season, Mike Smith was the main reason why the Flames lost. Smith has been the team’s MVP 51 games into 2017-18, but he wasn’t himself on Thursday night.
With the Flames up by a pair with less than six minutes left in the second period, Lightning forward Matthew Peca (who is no relation to former NHLer Michael Peca) squeezed the puck under Smith’s right arm and in, to make it 4-3. The Flames all-star backstop surrendered another soft goal just 12 seconds into third period, when Alex Killorn’s backhand sailed between Smith’s left pad and glove, squaring the score at four.
A little bit more than five minutes later, Cory Conacher spun and shot from the corner to Smith’s left, and snuck the puck past the Flames’ netminder, giving the Lightning a 5-4 lead. Following the game, Smith took responsibility for the loss.
Because the game was by far his worst as a Flame, I’m left wondering if fatigue was a factor for the 35-year-old. Smith started his 43rd game of the season on Thursday, tied for most in the NHL with Toronto Maple Leafs workhorse Frederik Anderson. Smith was also a late addition to the Pacific Division all-star team and made a long trip to and from Tampa last weekend. While Smith certainly struggled against the Lightning, he also made some spectacular saves, including one on Chris Kunitz in the second period.
Giving the goaltender a night off probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. But don’t expect it to happen on Saturday, when the Flames wrap up a three-game home stand versus the Blackhawks. Smith will almost certainly want to have a chance to bounce back, and with the way he’s played this season, he deserves one. I suspect David Rittich’s next start won’t be until next week, probably in Thursday’s game against the Devils or in Friday’s contest versus the Rangers.
KUCHER-OFF THE SCORESHEET
With 27 goals and 64 points so far this season, Nikita Kucherov is tied for second in the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy race and leads the Art Ross Trophy race, so it’s hard to believe that the Lightning sniper wasn’t in on any of the goals that his team scored in a 7-4 victory over the Flames. Kucherov, who was pretty inconspicuous on Thursday night, is goalless with five assists in the last nine games.
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ANOTHER TOUGH TO SWALLOW LOSS
I’m not sure which one of the Flames’ two losses this week will be more difficult to digest, Tuesday’s 4-2 setback versus the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights or Thursday’s 7-4 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning. On Tuesday, a 2-1 lead with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time turned into a loss when the Golden Knights scored twice in 10 seconds and thrice in 53 seconds.
On Thursday, the Flames went from being ahead by two goals with less than six minutes left in the second period to behind by three tallies before the nine-minute mark of the third period. The reality of the situation is there is absolutely nothing the Flames can do about either loss. All that Glen Gulutzan’s group can do is try to build on the positives (and there were plenty), learn from the negatives and move on.
GREAT GOALS!
Micheal Ferland reached the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career with a wicked one-timer. Mikael Backlund left Mikhail Sergachev searching for his jockstrap with a toe-drag and handcuffed Andrei Vasilevskiy with a perfectly-placed shot for his 10th of the season. Sean Monahan scored his team-leading 23rd. Matt Stajan finished what may have been the best shift that a Flames fourth line has had all season with his second goal. The Flames didn’t win, but they did score more than three goals in a game for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks.
CALGARY NEEDS A CHINOOK…
…in more ways than one. When I departed the Dome following the Flames’ sixth straight loss, it was -18 C. It’s safe to say that most Calgarians are hoping that the weather – and the Flames – start thawing sometime soon.
Despite their recent cold streak, the Flames are only two points behind the Sharks and Ducks, who are tied for second place in the Pacific Division. They’re also pair of points in arrears of the Avalanche, who sit in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
While there is no need to press the panic button at this point, six consecutive setbacks has created a snowball that is growing in size and picking up speed and one that will become increasingly tough to stop with each and every loss. In addition to catching the teams ahead of them, it’s important that the Flames put some distance between themselves and the teams behind them, including their next opponent, the Blackhawks, who they’ll play in a home-and-home series which starts in Calgary this Saturday and ends in Chicago next Tuesday.
