This was a game of three parts. The Lightning grabbed momentum in the opening minute and scored four goals in the first 10:01. The next period and a half was penalty-filled, as the teams combined for nine power-play chances. On the last of those—a Lightning power play that carried into the third period, the Flames gained momentum from a shorthanded goal that cut the Lightning lead to 4-1. That tally fueled Calgary’s attack, and the Flames applied heavy pressure for most of the third period. Thanks to Andrei Vasilevskiy, however, Calgary would get no closer.
The opening minute featured two scoring chances, one for each team. A Lightning turnover behind their net led to Jonathan Huberdeau’s open look from the top of the crease. Vasilevskiy kicked away Huberdeau’s backhander, though, which kept the game scoreless. Seconds later, the Lightning rushed the puck into the Calgary end and converted. Brandon Hagel’s shot from the left circle beat Dustin Wolf at :39.
The Lightning stormed the Flames for the next several minutes and added to their lead. On the shift after Hagel’s goal, the line of Nick Paul, Jake Guentzel, and Gage Goncalves controlled play in the Calgary end. Paul passed to Charle-Edouard D’Astous at the center point, and D’Astous slapped the puck past a screened Wolf at 1:26.
Zemgus Girgensons collected his 200th career point at 5:52 when his centering pass from the left circle deflected off Kevin Bahl’s stick and into the net. The goal was made possible by Declan Carlile, who joined the play to create an odd-man rush. Girgensons attempted to pass the puck to Carlile at the front of the net when it hit Bahl’s stick.
Devin Cooley replaced Wolf, and the first shot he faced hit the post (one of three the Lightning would hit in the game). Soon after, though, Carlile extended the lead when he cranked a left-circle shot off Cooley and in at 10:01.
Just over two minutes later, the Lightning took the first of five penalties in the game. They successfully killed off all five. But the successive penalties changed the dynamic of the game, as the Flames got into more of a rhythm.
The Flames took a penalty early in the second period while on their third PP chance. This created a short four-on-four and then an even shorter Lightning power play, because Kucherov was assessed a high-sticking double-minor shortly after the power play began. But once the double-minor was killed, the Lightning weren’t assessed another infraction for the rest of the game.
Instead, the Lightning received three unanswered power plays of their own. They created several good looks on those chances but couldn’t convert. They hit two crossbars, and Cooley made five tough saves.
In the latter part of the second period, the Lightning thought they’d extended the lead when Paul finished a shot from the slot, but the officials ruled that Paul interfered with Cooley.
Just over a minute into the third, the Flames got on the board. It happened during the Lightning’s final power-play chance. Joel Farabee’s shot from the right circle deflected off Darren Raddysh’s stick and eluded Vasilevskiy. Over the next several minutes, the Flames generated numerous high-danger chances around the net. In all, they recorded 19 third-period shots, 18 after the Farabee goal. Vasilevskiy stopped all 18, however.
Kucherov and Hagel converted on a two-on-one rush at 14:23 to make it 5-1, effectively putting the game out of reach. But the Flames still managed to register five more shots on goal and a handful of dangerous looks before the clock ran out.
It was not a great close-out period for the Lightning, but they did plenty well in the first two periods. They’ve now won five straight, matching their season high.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game (as selected by Phil Esposito):
- Brandon Hagel — Lightning. Goal and assist.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy — Lightning. 32 saves.
- Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Lightning. Goal.
