CALGARY — Jonathan Huberdeau’s spin rama set up a feast for the winner, and Matt Coronato used a rocket launcher to score and set up the tiebreaker.
But when the clock ran out on the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, there were two smaller Flames who made the biggest difference in the hosts’ victory.
Dustin Wolf held the fort with 11 shots in the first 4 minutes at 166 pounds until Ryan Lomberg turned the momentum around with his first Three two-game nights, putting his 5-foot-9 frame in jeopardy.
Both of their legends grew a foot in size in the 2-1 win, which left the Flames just one point out of a playoff spot at midseason.
Their roles are emblematic of how the Flames have managed to stay on top, with excellent goaltending and dogged determination allowing them to excel every night.
“I thought he was like an animal the way he handled things a lot of days,” said Lomborg’s Ryan Huska, who surrendered 5 inches and 32 pounds in one game Got Tanner Jeannot, which helped turn the momentum around in a 1-1 game.
“He punched above his weight class a lot of nights and I have a lot of respect for the way he competes.”
No one gave Lomberg a decision, but everyone paid tribute to the fourth-line spark plug who followed up Kyle Burroughs’ hit on Walker Duehr responded, resulting in his second scrap.
“He’s been around a long time. He knows when our team needs something and he finds a way to do that for us.”
“We’re still waiting for that hat trick,” Huberdeau said with a smile, the three-game night fans (and Lomberg) have been dreaming of.
“I mean, he’s been talking about it, so we’ll see when he does it. Two is good, but three…”
The Kings allowed 32 shots to Wolfe in the opening minutes, a large number of which started the night.
Wolfe is up to the task, as he has been in nearly every home start this season, going 11-2-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .936 save percentage.
Huska laughed when asked about the situation when the Flames endured nine Kings power plays in the opening minutes.
“It’s not the team’s problem, it’s Wolf’s problem,” said the coach, whose club now begins a four-game road trip.
“There are situations where your goalkeeper has to be your best player and he is.”
The Coronato rocket shot from the high post tied a sloppy, one-sided game midway through the second period before Lomberg asked Jeannault to leave.
“I knew he wasn’t the type to take no for an answer, so I went up to him and asked him and tried to get the kids excited and get the crowd involved,” said Lomborg, whose smile after the game made fans even more angry. He walked toward the box and encouraged a nearby fan to cheer loudly.
“He missed a little bit. I told him to have a beer on the big screen and he took a sip. Hopefully next time whoever I call out will get the fans more excited.”
There’s a lot to cheer about in southern Alberta, and preseason projections suggest a playoff shot is unlikely.
“You look at the standings, every team in the playoffs is legitimate,” Lomberg said.
“Now that we’re having conversations, you can take confidence from it and say we’re one of those teams now. We have the ability to be here, that’s why we’re here, and we’re going to continue to prove people wrong.”
Every game is truly a battle for his team, achieved well by a pleasing balance between veteran leadership and youthful energy.
Young Coronato has been one of the better forwards of late and he played a key role on Saturday, including forcing Huberdeau to rebound with his powerful shot.
Huberdeau has 11 goals and 19 points in his last 17 games, working his magic alongside Nazem Kadri.
Of all the kids, no one shined brighter than Wolfe, who made two saves on Phillip Danault in the final minutes, including a big glove save in the splits.
But people left the rink talking about ol’ Lombo.
“Every time that guy drops the glove, I think it changes the momentum,” Wolfe said.
“As you can hear, the crowd was very interested. He’s a likeable guy and one of the best at doing that.
It’s also how his team keeps fighting.
