BOSTON — In a city renowned for sports memories, Ryan Lomberg has already made a few of his own.
His last game at TD Garden came just under six months ago, as his Florida Panthers punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final with a 2-1 win.
The year before that, he looked on as Florida completed a wild comeback, winning Game 7 of their first-round set in overtime here after facing elimination for the third time.
Tonight, it’s time to start making new memories, and Lomberg - who played his college hockey up I-95 in Maine - is eager to get going.
“There’s a lot of good memories in this building,” he reminisced Thursday morning. “It’s an amazing sports city, anytime you get the opportunity to play here, it’s pretty exciting.
“Obviously with a new team now, I’m looking forward to building some good memories of our own here.”
Those memories are bound to include his fourth-line mates.
And while the personnel has shifted from game to game - Lomberg skated alongside Justin Kirkland and Massachusetts local Kevin Rooney at practice Wednesday - the importance of what they each set out to do on any given Thursday remains the same.
“The fourth line of our team has to be the identity line,” he said. “It has to be the one that players can look to and know that we’re doing all the right things. We’re tracking back hard, we’re getting pucks in, we’re being very responsible.
We take a lot of pride in that, we’re excited to do it tonight.”
As ebullient as he is off the ice, Lomberg is just as energetic on it.
He ranks third among Flames forwards in hits with 28, despite being one of only two Calgary skaters to average fewer than 10 minutes of ice-time per game through his 13 appearances this season.
But it’s that easy-going nature that allows him to adapt to whoever’s playing on his line.
He’s the ultimate ‘team’ guy. There for his mates with a laugh or a story, and there to put everything on the line to help try and secure points in the standings.
It’s that attitude - and adaptability - that Lomberg figures will serve both himself and the Flames well in the long run.
“You need depth in this league,” he said. “It’s a four-line league now.
“To be able to have guys that can plug in and plug out, and get the job done, is something that’s going to benefit us, for sure.”
