Flames aim to take advantage of five-game homestand

The Calgary Flames have spent much of the season sitting in a playoff position, but a stretch in which they’ve won four of 10 games has left them on the outside looking in.

The Flames host the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night in the first of a five-game homestand. It’s an important stretch for a team that has been significantly better at home than it has been on the road so far this season.

At home, the Flames are among league leaders in wins (10) and five-on-five save percentage (.956). Away from the Saddledome, Calgary has the third-fewest wins (four) and has allowed the third-most goals (55).

The club recently ended an eight-game road losing streak in Nashville on Tuesday and knows they have to take advantage of this homestand. 

“We were not playing as fast [on the road] and as connected and turning pucks over too much and too many penalties,” captain Mikael Backlund said. “Last road game was really solid. I thought we really played a good game and didn’t give them much. That’s what we should do at home.”

Calgary’s defensive play has also fallen off over the past three weeks. Since Nov. 25, their five-on-five save percentage of .898 is 21st, after the club was near the top of that category for the first two months of the season.

Head coach Ryan Huska said that the club has to be more aware of where the opponent is on the ice.

“Teams have gotten behind us a little bit more than we would have liked over the last number of games,” he said. “That’s an area we have to clean up.”

Forward Jonathan Huberdeau has been a bright spot for Calgary recently. He has seven points in his past five games and has formed a strong chemistry with centre Nazem Kadri. The two haven’t been on the same line for an extended stretch since the 2022-23 campaign.

Huberdeau joked that he’s played with every centre on the team and had to start at the beginning. He attributed his strong play with Kadri to the teammates simply getting to know one another off the ice. 

“He’s a talented player. I think sometimes, we didn’t get the fit at first, the chemistry, but we’ve gotten to know each other too really well off the ice,” Huberdeau said. “The communication is better now on the ice.”

Huska had Huberdeau out against the Predators in the dying minutes with Calgary up by a goal. He said he can rely on the left winger more now than before because his defensive game has rounded into form.

Huberdeau is being used as a penalty killer and often goes against other team’s top lines. In the third year of an eight-year, $84 million contract, he's on pace for 54 points – similar to his first two seasons in Calgary where he notched 55 and 52 points.

“He’s gotten better every year that he’s been here,” Huska said. “This year, we’ve tasked him with penalty killing. Maybe because he’s got offensive instincts, he thinks the way an offensive, power-play guy would. He’s in good position a lot of the time.”

PROJECTED FLAMES LINEUP

F

Huberdeau-Kadri-Pospisil
Sharangovich-Backlund-Coronato
Coleman-Zary-Kuzmenko
Lomberg-Rooney-Duehr  

D

Bahl-Andersson
Weegar-Miromanov
Bean-Pachal

G

Vladar
Wolf