(SportsNetwork.com) – The Calgary Flames try to extend the momentum created by
a successful road trip into Tuesday night’s home meeting with the banged-up
Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Flames began the season with a loss to the visiting Vancouver Canucks
before posting a 4-2 record on a six-game road trip. They capped the swing
with Sunday’s 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets and will play their next five
at home.
Dennis Wideman, Johnny Gaudreau and Mason Raymond all potted second-period
goals in the victory over the Jets. Defenseman T.J. Brodie added a goal in the
third frame and Jonas Hiller made 34 saves.
Raymond’s goal was his fifth of the season.
“Great second period. We came out strong, we came out with a great forecheck.
We got a big power-play goal,” Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said.
Brodie has three goals and seven points through Calgary’s first seven games
and on Monday signed a five-year contract extension.
“It seemed like a good deal,” Brodie said on Calgary’s website. “The longer
you wait there is always risks, too. Whether it’s injuries or having a cold
slump or something like that.
“To get it out of the way now, it gives me a chance to relax and not have to
think about it.”
The Lightning don’t want to think too much about last night’s 3-2 loss in
Edmonton, the Oilers’ first win of the season.
Brian Boyle and Brett Connolly scored for the Lightning, who have split the
first two of their five-game road trip. Ben Bishop allowed three goals on 23
shots in the loss.
“We just weren’t making any plays,” Bishop said. “Every time we got the puck
we just flicked it and turned it over and they took it back to us.”
The highlight of the game was the NHL debut of Tampa Bay forward Jonathan
Drouin, the third overall pick of the 2013 draft. Drouin was recalled from the
American Hockey League on Sunday after completing a rehab assignment for a
thumb injury and was not expected to play, but was put into the lineup after
Alex Killorn sustained an upper-body injury during morning skate.
The 19-year-old Drouin had one shot on goal in just over 16 minutes of ice
time, posting a minus-1 rating.
After losing Killorn earlier in the day, forward Ryan Callahan suffered a
lower-body injury versus the Oilers and is not expected to play tonight. Tampa
Bay is already without defenseman Victor Hedman for the next 4-to-6 weeks
because of a hand injury.
Hedman had posted three goals and seven points over the first five games,
while Callahan has three goals and five points in six games.
The Lightning have won four of their past six versus the Flames as well as
five of its last seven trips to Calgary.
