The Calgary Flames are in Sunrise this afternoon to play the Panthers after a rough go Wednesday night in Tampa.
After winning three straight and looking like they were coming out of a season-long funk, the Flames were thumped 5-1 by the Lightning after Tampa Bay scored three goals on four shots in the first 5:52 of the game, chasing starting goalie Dustin Wolf.
“We lave our last game where it was,’’ former Panthers sparkplug Ryan Lomberg said Thursday from the IcePlex. “It was a good workday here to regroup and face the defending champs tomorrow.’’
When Joel Farabee finally scored for Calgary early in the third, the game was already beyond reach. Farabee is the hottest player on the Flames right now, scoring four goals in his past four games.
Calgary started the season with only two wins in its first 13. They have the worst offensive numbers in the NHL.
Nazem Kadri leads the team in points with 18 (off four goals); Matt Coronato leads the team with eight goals.
Of all the Flames players struggling to get going this season, the three former Panthers are having the roughest time.
Jonathan Huberdeau, who owns one of the most lucrative contracts in the NHL, looked like he was returning to the form he showed in his 10 Florida seasons when he scored 28 goals last season.
He had a combined 27 in his first two seasons with the Flames following the 2022 blockbuster in which the Panthers traded Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Cole Schwindt (who has since returned to Florida) and a first-round pick for Matthew Tkachuk.
Huberdeau has not scored a goal in 11 games and has four in 20 games thus far.
His most notable moment this season came against Dallas last Saturday when he got into his first fight in seven seasons, dropping the gloves against Mikko Rantanen of the Stars after a questionable hit against Coronato.
Even through he has been away from the Panthers for a minute, Huberdeau said he is always happy to return to South Florida.
Huberdeau added this was his first trip to the Panthers’ new facility in Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s always good to be back in Florida and I have some family I am going to see today,’’ Huberdeau said. “My family makes the trip here, no matter what.’’
Weegar is having a really rough season.
The offensive-minded defenseman has no goals thus far — after scoring 20 two seasons ago.
What makes his year even worse is his minus-20 mark, which is the worst of all NHL defensemen.
Lomberg is not known as a scorer in the NHL.
As a perennial fourth liner, his forte is hustle and his willingness to stick up for his teammates.
After winning the Stanley Cup with Florida in 2024 he received an offer he couldn’t refuse from Calgary, the team that signed him to an entry level deal in 2017.
Florida had no cap space to award him a raise.
Lomberg managed three goals and 13 points last season. This year, he has one assist in 23 games. He was recently scratched.
Yet being back in South Florida is always going to be special to Lomberg.
Last year, in his return to Sunrise, he was celebrated with a rousing ovation.
He says he is still excited to be back.
“The heat, the sunshine and palm trees are nice to look at,” Lomberg said. “Seeing some familiar faces around here … nothing but great memories here. You look past the Stanley Cup and some of the connections, friends we call family now, are lifelong friends. It’s great to be back.”
Dryden Hunt, who played 63 games for the Panthers early in his career, is in his third season with the Flames organization.
He split the previous two seasons between the Flames and the AHL but this year, despite several callups, he is yet to play a game for the Flames.
Expect the Flames to be far more ready to play against Florida than they were against Tampa Bay.
“You can’t be down 3-0 five minutes into a game,” coach Ryan Huska said. “It doesn’t work against good teams. You’re not going to come back in those situations. Not the start we were looking for, for sure.
“For a team that’s really good in the first period like Tampa is, you have to make sure you’re on with your details. I don’t think our details were good enough early on in tonight’s game.”
ON DECK: GAME No. 23
CALGARY FLAMES at FLORIDA PANTHERS
