Ryan Lomberg’s face after the Calgary Flames’ disastrous road trip is fairly representative of what happened during four scoreless games away from home. The Flames winger’s face was already showing signs of a black eye and there was a giant lump on the side of his head after a brutal 5-2 defeat in Friday’s matinee.
To make matters worse, the Flames dropped another stinker in Pittsburgh on Saturday, losing 6-2 to the Penguins to complete the losers’ bracket.
Friday’s loss to the Blue Jackets was an emotionally charged game with Calgary on the wrong side in every respect – even the three points that saw Martin Pospisil drop the gloves twice and Lomberg take a few licks in a revenge game against Saturday, she seemed completely emotionless.
“Whether you win or lose, you go down swinging for each other and that is the type of teammate I am,” Lomberg said after Friday’s defeat.
That woe didn’t work in their favor and they looked exhausted Saturday when Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri scored third-period goals, long after the Penguins had done enough damage to the Coast. The Pens went 5-0 ahead after goals from Anthony Beauvillier, Michael Bunting, Philip Tomasino, Rickard Rakell and Kris Letang. Blake Lizotte completed the scoring in the final few minutes of the match.
“We’re just an easy team to play against,” Huberdeau told reporters in Pittsburgh after Saturday’s loss pushed the Flames record to 12-9-4. They sit in fourth place in the Pacific Division as of Sunday and are in danger of falling to fifth after briefly holding first place last week during a four-game winning streak at home.
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“It’s hard for us when we’re down a lot of goals and we have to come back; we have to come out harder and play harder. We still have to stick together. We’re going back home; we know at home we’re better , but we still have to figure out the road game.”
Kadri was a little more positive and put together a decent attack early in the game, but scoring remains a problem for the Flames, who are now on a 22-game winning streak with three or fewer goals.
“Just in a rut. That’s standard in a season,” Kadri said. “It’s a rollercoaster ride; you have to be able to deal with those highs and lows, as we’ve discussed before.
“We’re going to approach it the same way as if we were on a four-game winning streak. Obviously we have to get out, it’s a good way to do it at home.”
The Flames host the Blue Jackets and the Gaudreau family on Tuesday in what should be another emotional evening at the Saddledome.
