5 THINGS - FLAMES @ LIGHTNING
The Flames kick off six-game roadie in Tampa Bay
Video: Brendan Parker sets up tonight's tilt in Tampa
NEED-TO-KNOW
ONLINE 50/50
Purchase your online 50/50 tickets for a chance at some big cash!
GAME DAY VIDEO
Game Day with Brendan Parker
Pregame Interviews
GAME DAY FEATURES
'Just Try to Have Fun' - Lindholm
Projected Lineup
Say What: 'Tough Road Trip'
STAT PACK
Media Game Notes
Scoring Leaders
2021-22 Head-to-Head Stats
WANT TO WIN SOME CASH?!
https://www.nhl.com/flames/community/50-50
Leading Scorers:
Flames:
Points - Nazem Kadri (14)
Goals - Kadri (7)
Lightning:
Points - Nikita Kucherov (23)
Goals - Steven Stamkos (8)
Special Teams:
Flames:
PP- 20.0% (21st) / PK - 81.7% (8th)
Lightning:
PP- 22.7% (11th) / PK - 80.3% (12th)
Advanced Stats:
Flames:
Shot Attempts: 54.83% (4th)
High-Danger Chances: 55.51% (5th)
Lightning:
Shot Attempts: 50.67% (14th)
High-Danger Chances: 54.77% (7th)
The upside - they scored six goals.
The downside - they allowed five.
But at the end of the day, the most notable aspect of the game was the victory and a big two points as the Flames held on to win their second straight tilt with a 6-5 decision over the Kings on Monday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
LA scored twice in the third period which led to a nail-biting finish between the division rivals.
An earlier 3-2 victory over the Jets on Saturday gave them a sweep of a quick two-game homestand before they hit the road for this current six-game U.S. jaunt that starts here against the Lightning before facing the Panthers, Flyers, Penguins, Capitals and rounding out against the Hurricanes.
As for the outing against the Kings, the half-dozen goals marked a season high for the Flames, with each of their four new lines - rejigged with the return of Jonathan Huberdeau to the lineup - scoring an even-strength tally as part of four-goal first period.
"We found a way to win," said Tyler Toffoli, who scored his sixth of the season when he converted a 2-on-1 pass from Elias Lindholm. "I don't think it's the way we wanted it to happen, but at the end of the day we'll take the two points. Division rival, really good team playing really good hockey. It was a really good test for us tonight."
Lindholm also scored in the outing, as did Huberdeau, Andrew Mangiapane, Brett Ritchie and Adam Ruzicka, while Jacob Markstrom made 21 stops.
Nazem Kadri had a pair of assists, including his 300th career apple.
Video: Coach on team's identity, facing the Bolts and more
The Lightning won their second straight game in their last outing, too, thanks to an overtime strike by Alex Killorn on Tuesday night, as Tampa Bay improved to 9-6-1 on the season.
Steven Stamkos collected his 500th NHL assist by setting up the OT winner.
"Big goal for our team," Stamkos told NHL.com's Corey Long. "To do it on an overtime goal that helps the team win is probably as good as it's going to get."
Former Flame Brian Elliott manned the pipes, making 28 saves for the Lightning.
"I think we're still finding ourselves, but with every game guys are getting more comfortable with each other," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "We're making strides. I thought this was a really good test. Dallas has beaten a lot of good teams."
Ross Colton opened the scoring for the Bolts just 1:20 in, but the Stars tied it up before the intermission off a tally by Mason Marchment.
Nick Paul and captain Stamkos - his first goal in 11 games - both scored in the second, but the Stars added a pair of their own to keep it knotted up after 40 minutes.
Ian Cole put the homeside up at 3:55 into the third but Radek Faksa would strike shorthanded with under five minutes to go leading to extra time, where Killorn ended it at 3:43.
HOT START: The Flames found the back of the net four times in the first period of Monday's 6-5 win over LA. This is the second time they've scored four in the opening frame of a game with the other coming against Edmonton in their season opener on Oct.14. They are the only team in the NHL to tally four times in the opening frame multiple times so far this season.
RED-HOT RUZICKA: Forward Adam Ruzicka recorded his second straight multi-point effort on Monday night (1-1-2), and has five points in his last four games. The Bratislava, SVK native picked up his first career game-winning goal in the NHL with is tally against the Kings and has averaged over 15 minutes a game in his last three contests.
Video: "Lot of confidence going into this game tomorrow"
DID YOU KNOW: Darryl Sutter recorded career win No. 800 in regular season and playoffs combined on Monday.
Stick tap to Flames Communications Coordinator Jordan Bay for compiling these notes.
Follow the Flames PR team @FlamesPR on Twitter for more.
Flames - Elias Lindholm
Lindholm has been a monster in the Flames last two outings, scoring a pair and totalling five points in the two victories. He has scored 26 even-strength goals since Feb. 2, which is the second most in the NHL over that span.
Lightning - Brayden Point
The Calgary product is third in team scoring with six goals and 16 points. He's cooled off a bit with just one assist in his last three games but is always a threat to have a breakout game.
Blake Coleman on importance of six-game trip:
"It's a big road trip for us. You look at last year and that long one we had to start the year out east, I think we swept it and it obviously got us off to a good start and got our team to where we needed to be and really gave us a good identity. So these trips can either really help you or really hurt you so we need to get off to a good start here."
