'JUST TRY TO HAVE FUN'

TAMPA - The praise has been well deserved.
When Flames assistant coach Ryan Huska took the podium to address the media after Calgary's 6-5 win over the visiting Kings Monday, he was asked his thoughts about what he saw in terms of chemistry with the team's lines.
He singled out the trio of Adam Ruzicka, Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli. Not really a surprise, given they each scored and combined for eights points on the night in a dominating performance.
"The one line was good tonight, for sure," said Huska. "I thought they moved the puck around well, the three of them together. Adam did a good job of using his size and going to the net and you could see, for me, over the last couple of games certain guys have raised their level (when we) needed to find a way to win games, and Elias has been one of them and so has Tyler.
"So that was a good line for tonight, for sure."

As is usually the case with centremen, the driver of the line has been Lindholm, who head coach Darryl Sutter referred to as the team's best forward recently.
Lindholm comes into tonight's tilt with the Lightning at Amalie Arena with a team-high two goals and five points in the club's two recent victories (they beat the Jets 3-2 on Saturday), which snapped a seven-game losing run and gave the Flames plenty of confidence as they head out on this season-long six-game road swing.
"It feels good," said Lindholm Thursday morning. "Have played with Tyler for all the games so far and Adam came in and did a great job. He's young but he's skilled, has a big body and likes to make plays and he's been a great fit since he came in.
"We just try to have fun, make plays and keep it pretty simple. It's no secret. It's obviously nice when you can help the team and put a couple in the net."

Lindholm has six goals on the season and is tied for second in team scoring with Toffoli, the pair both having 13 points, one shy of leader Nazem Kadri.
When asked Thursday morning about Lindholm, Sutter said the player's game has been steadily improving since the team wrapped up its long eight-game homestand and it carried through their subsequent three-game U.S. jaunt and then the aformentioned recent homestand.
"Him and Tyler have been our best forwards, that's pretty clear," said Sutter. "And putting Adam in just gives a little bit more energy and those guys can kind of pull him into it a little bit."
Lindholm had career highs in goals (42) and points (82) last season, and being the type of player he is, said he wasn't happy with his game to start the season when he tallied a pair of goals and no assists over the first six outings of the campaign.
Simply put, he expected more of himself.
"Obviously a slow start and couldn't find rhythm or find a way I wanted to play and now lately it's getting better," he explained. "I feel better out there, making more plays. Now my game is pretty good, so just keep going.
"Early on there was no panic for me," he added. "I think I know what kind of player I am. Sooner or later, pucks are gonna start going in and stuff like that and you're going to find your game.
"When pucks start going in, you obviously feel better out there. It's all connected."

Goalscoring, of course, is just one facet of his game. His tenacious style of play, aggressive checking, faceoff prowess and ability to be used on powerplay and penalty-kill make him one of the most versatile and effective two-way forwards in the league, his name bandied about last year in the Selke conversation.
"That's the player I want to be," said Lindholm. "I want to be a good two-way player that helps the team and can play a lot of minutes and play every situation. Every year I have that mindset to keep getting better."
That mindset of getting better mirrors that of his club, who are looking to build on what they started at the Scotiabank Saddledome and extend their current two-game winning streak.
"I think, honestly, last game was good for the team that all the lines were scoring goals," said Lindholm. "So I think, hopefully, everyone got a little boost from that and can keep building on that."