Lightning 5, Flames 1: Lightning Strike Early, Never Look

The Tampa Bay Lightning raced out to a 4-0 lead before half of the first period had finished. Then they ran off and hid for an easy 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames. From the opening faceoff, there seemed to be no doubt who would prevail in this game. It was the Lightning, and they made a statement. Brandon Hagel opened the scoring just 39 seconds in, finishing a textbook 3-on-2 rush, and Charle-Edouard D’Astous followed less than a minute later with a one-timer from the point, giving the Lightning an early 2-0 edge. For Calgary, it was a wake-up call they could not answer.

The Lightning were firing on all cylinders. Zemgus Girgensons made it 3-0 with a shot from the outside of the left circle that deflected past Dustin Wolf, marking his 200th career NHL point. The early dominance forced Calgary to pull Wolf for Devin Cooley, but Tampa Bay’s momentum never wavered. Declan Carlile added his first goal of the season to make it 4-0, leaving the Flames scrambling and chasing the game from the start.

Calgary’s Joel Farabee got on the board with a short-handed goal late in the third, but it was merely a consolation as Nikita Kucherov scored off a 2-on-1 rush with Hagel setting him up, sealing the 5-1 win. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 32 shots, keeping the Flames at bay and allowing the Lightning to capitalize on every scoring opportunity. For Tampa Bay, it was a complete team game with contributions up and down the lineup. The Lightning are hot and extended their winning streak to five games.

Three Takeaways from the Flames’ Perspective

Takeaway One: The Flames’ slow starts have been costly. Allowing two goals in the first 90 seconds created a deficit too large to overcome, despite Calgary’s efforts to regroup.

Takeaway Two: The Flames’ goaltending has shown instability. Wolf’s early struggles forced a mid-period switch to Cooley, but neither netminder could stem the Lightning tide. Consistency between the pipes remains a concern. Wolf is good, but he isn’t holding his team in games like he did last season.

Takeaway Three: The Flames missed too many opportunities. Calgary had some solid pockets of play, including a short-handed goal by Joel Farabee, but couldn’t sustain pressure or convert early chances to keep pace with Tampa’s relentless attack.

Final Flames’ Thought

The Flames need to sharpen starts and tighten defensive coverage, especially against high-powered teams. The talent is there, but execution and mental readiness must improve to compete on the road and in back-to-back games.