‘We just gave them everything’: Flames’ defensive woes on display in loss to Lightning

The Calgary Flames opened the scoring 4:42 into Thursday night’s game with the Tampa Bay Lightning. They led for the next 14 minutes of the first period, when Nikita Kucherov scored on a breakaway to tie the game at 1-1.

The Flames never had a lead for the remainder of the evening, as things got away from them as the game wore on.

Tampa Bay took advantage of a defensively porous Flames team en route to an 8-3 victory at the Scotiabank Saddledome. It represented both the Flames’ first regulation loss at home since Nov. 3 against Edmonton, and the most goals they’ve allowed in a home loss since Feb. 15, 2020.

Flames head coach Ryan Huska had a pretty blunt assessment of his team’s outing.

“It wasn’t very good,” said Huska. “We looked flat to me, and that was from the start of the game. So we didn’t play the game that we need to play, and we allowed them to play the game that we were very good at.”

If you wind back the tape, what you see isn’t particularly pretty for a Flames group whose calling card through 29 games had been a tight-checking, structured defensive style. The Flames’ game was instead punctuated by giveaways, miscues and odd-man rushes that allowed a Tampa Bay team that excels at creating scoring chances off the rush ample time and space to do so.

“I don’t think we got out of our zone clean at all to start with,” said Huska. “And they had way too much room from top of the circles.”

Tampa’s first goal (from Kucherov) was a breakaway off a Jonathan Huberdeau turnover. Brandon Hagel scored from the slot after a MacKenzie Weegar rim-around attempt from behind the Flames’ net was intercepted by Anthony Cirelli.  Conor Geekie and Jake Guentzel (twice) scored off odd-man rushes off Flames’ turnovers up ice.

And that’s not even getting into the Lightning scoring three power play goals, converting on every single power play they received.

To paraphrase the coach: the Flames weren’t very good against the Lightning.

“I think we just gave them too much room out there, especially a team like that,” said Huberdeau. “That’s all they want, and we just gave them everything.”

“Didn’t defend very well,” said Nazem Kadri. “I mean that’s what it comes down to. You know, that was pretty non-existent. I mean, we did a good job trying to get back into the game, but just gave him too many opportunities and that’s what good players do. They shove it down your throat.”

Huberdeau, Kadri and Connor Zary scored for the Flames in the loss.

Flames netminder Dan Vladar, starting for the fifth time in the past six games, allowed eight goals on 26 shots but his teammates were quick to point out that he wasn’t given a lot of backup.

“I don’t think we did a very good job at helping Vladdy out tonight,” said Kadri. “Kind of hung him out to dry a little bit, but you know, that’s what happens when you don’t defend off a great team off the rush. They’re going to make you pay.”

“I think we let Vladdy be by himself at the end,” said Huberdeau. “And we don’t want to do that ever again.”

Thursday’s game was the first in a five game homestand that takes the Flames up to the Christmas holiday break. They face another strong team on Saturday night in the form of the Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions.

“I think, you know, we’ll put ourselves back in a good position if we, you know, if we get these wins,” said Huberdeau of the remainder of the homestand. “So I think it starts, you know, Saturday against another good team coming in. But, you know, I think that’s going to be important to play our game and play better than obviously we did tonight.”