Ryan Lomberg’s face after the Calgary Flames’ disastrous road trip is fairly representative of what happened during four winless games away from home. The Flames winger’s face was already showing evidence of a black eye and there was a giant lump on the side of his head after a brutal 5-2 loss in Friday’s matinee.
Adding insult to injury, the Flames dropped another stinker in Pittsburgh on Saturday, losing 6-2 to the Penguins to complete the loser sweep.
The Friday loss to the Blue Jackets was an emotionally charged contest that Calgary came out on the wrong side of in every way — even the three scraps with Martin Pospisil twice dropping the gloves and Lomberg taking some licks in a revenge match against On Saturday, they seemed devoid of emotion entirely.
“Whether you win or lose, you go down swinging for one another and that’s the type of teammate that I am,” Lomberg said after Friday’s loss.
That nastiness didn’t work in their favour, and they appeared drained on Saturday with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri scoring third-period goals long after the Penguins had done enough damage to coast. The Pens went up 5-0 on goals from Anthony Beauvillier, Michael Bunting, Philip Tomasino, Rickard Rakell and Kris Letang. Blake Lizotte rounded out the scoring in the last couple of minutes of the contest.
“We’re just an easy team to play against,” Huberdeau told reporters in Pittsburgh after Saturday’s loss dropped the Flames record to 12-9-4. They’ll wake up on Sunday sitting fourth in the Pacific Division and at risk of dipping to fifth after sitting first briefly 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’ve got to come out harder, and play harder. We have to stick together still. We’re going back home; we know we’re better at home, but we still have to figure out the road game.”
Kadri was a bit more positive, clinging to a decent push early in the game, but scoring continues to be a problem for the Flames, who are now at a streak of 22 games scoring three or fewer goals.
“Just in a little bit of a rut. That’s standard in a season,” Kadri said. “It’s a roller-coaster ride; you’ve got to be able to manage those highs and lows, as we’ve talked about.
“We’re going to approach it the same way as if we were on a four-game winning streak. Obviously, have to snap out of it, it’s a good way to do it at home.”
The Flames host the Blue Jackets and the Gaudreau family in what should be an emotional night again on Tuesday at the Saddledome.
