Lightning fall to Flames in OT, end trip with 7 of a possible 8 points

Eduardo A. Encina, Tampa Bay Times on Mar 22, 2026

Published in Hockey

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

The Tampa Bay Lightning knew that beating Calgary Sunday to complete a sweep of their four-game road trip would be no easy task. Playing an early evening game at the Saddledome after a late finish in Edmonton the previous night against a Flames team that was well-rested and coming off back-to-back wins would be a challenge.

The game wasn’t their cleanest of the road after winning the first three in convincing fashion in Seattle, Vancouver and Edmonton, but the Lightning were able to rally from a two-goal deficit midway through the game to force overtime. They lost 4-3 on Ryan Strome’s goal 24 seconds into the five-minute, 3-on-3 extra session.

The Lightning were able to right their game on the trip and earned seven of a possible eight points. They definitely needed them, as their Atlantic Division competition kept winning.

The Lightning returned home trailing Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo by four points and leading third-place Montreal and Boston by five with 13 games to play in the regular season.

Tampa Bay didn’t touch the puck in overtime, as Calgary won the opening draw and Strome beat Anthony Cirelli to the front of the net. Strome took a feed from Matvei Griden from behind the net and beat goaltender Jonas Johansson.

The Lightning tied the game with 4:20 left in regulation on a Pontus Holmberg goal that followed a relentless forecheck that hemmed the Flames in their own end. Yanni Gourde beat Blake Coleman to the puck behind the net and flung it to Holmberg as he raced uncovered to the front of the net for his 10th goal of the season.

The Lightning certainly created enough chances to win, especially after a second period that saw them take 28 shot attempts (15 on net). But Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley made life difficult for Tampa Bay throughout the night.

Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh opened the scoring 7:25 into the game, but Calgary scored two goals 27 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Calgary forward Yegor Sharangovich found Victor Olofsson in the right circle, and Olofsson beat Johansson with 3:35 left in the first period. On the next shift, the Lightning were overloaded on the left wing backtracking on a Flames rush and left Morgan Frost free in the middle of the ice. Matt Coronato sent him a centering pass from the left circle to set up the go-ahead goal.

The Flames then caught the Lightning out of position again as three skaters went to Blake Coleman on the left wing. It left Mikael Backlund open for a wide-open look from the right circle, and he gave Calgary a 3-1 lead at 8:28 of the second.

The Lightning were able to cut their deficit to one later in the period, moving the puck around to set up defenseman Darren Raddysh for a slap shot from the high slot. His 19th goal of the season was one shy of the franchise’s single-season record for a defenseman, accomplished by Victor Hedman and Dan Boyle.

Cooley was stingy throughout, stopping the Lightning on the doorstep several times. His 14 second-period saves didn’t include Brayden Point’s look in front of a wide-open net that Calgary defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz was able to get his stick on.

____