First of all, the Flames played a solid, structured game in which they did an outstanding job of taking away the Lightning's speed. Calgary was coming off a leaky defensive performance, albeit in a 6-5 overtime win on Tuesday in Nashville, and was determined to tighten things up in this game. Also, the Flames were very aware of how well the Triplets had played on Tuesday versus Edmonton and Calgary was committed to taking away time and space from those three players. When the Lightning were able to generate some isolated chances, goalie Brian Elliott came up with key situational saves.
So the Flames played a terrific game. But the Lightning had their fingerprints on this outcome as well. For most of the night, they were not sharp in their execution, made poor puck decisions, committed sloppy turnovers and passed up potential shots. The Flames were sharp and the Lightning were flat.
These types of clunkers plague all teams at different points. The Bolts had strung together a number of solid outings during their 5-0-2 streak, but they simply didn't have it tonight. And the Flames did.
It's now paramount that the Lightning put this contest behind them (they get three days to prepare for Monday's game versus Ottawa) and start a new points streak.
Lightning Radio Big Moment of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
Sean Monahan's second period goal, giving Calgary a 2-1 lead.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
1. Dougie Hamilton - Flames. Goal and two assists.
2. Brian Elliott - Flames. 23 saves.
3. Brayden Point - Lightning. Assist.
